Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy was denied by Noah Atubolu and then struck the crossbar, but Borussia Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 to move provisionally top of the Bundesliga before hosting Bayern.
On Saturday 24 October at Signal Iduna Park, Borussia Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 on matchday 7 of the Bundesliga, according to Bundesliga.com. The decisive goal came from BVB striker Maximilian Beier in the 80th minute, from a Jobe Bellingham pass.
Serhou Guirassy, the BVB striker and Guinea international, finished the match without a goal. He was stopped by goalkeeper Noah Atubolu in the 15th and then the 17th minute, before heading against the crossbar in the 53rd, according to Sport News Africa.
Atubolu, then the bar
Twice in three minutes, Guirassy bore down on Atubolu, and twice the Frankfurt keeper kept out his effort, reports Bundesliga.com. In the 53rd minute, it was the crossbar that repelled his header.
The rest of the statistics point the same way. Dortmund finished the match with 18 shots to Frankfurt’s 8 and 59% possession, according to Sport News Africa. The expected goals (xG) tell the same story: 1.62 for BVB against 0.88 for Eintracht. Under coach Niko Kovac, Dortmund dominated the attacking side of the game.
17 points and first place
The win has an immediate effect on the table. Dortmund move provisionally into top spot with 17 points, says Fussball National Mannschaft. The club have also won five of their first seven league matches, BVB Buzz notes.
At the other end, Eintracht Frankfurt coach Adi Hütter admitted that Dortmund deserved the three points given their second half. “But based on the second half, Dortmund deserved the three points.”, he told The Hawk (IANS).
Bayern next week
What comes next looks demanding. Dortmund host Bayern Munich next week, according to IANS, which gives no date. BVB will go into that meeting with a provisional first place to defend.
Guirassy, for his part, found no way through against Frankfurt, despite his two attempts stopped by Atubolu and his header onto the bar. Dortmund won without their Guinean striker scoring.