December 18, (THEWILL) – Borussia Dortmund were defeated 3-2 by Hertha Berlin, losing ground on Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table.
As the visitors failed to capitalise on Julian Brandt’s chipped opener, Marco Richter scored two goals after Ishak Belfodil had equalised for the impressive hosts.
Three goals were written off by VAR in a game that was full of drama and goalmouth activity, as the technology once again proved to be a deciding factor in the game’s outcome. On 18 minutes, Myziane Maolida believed he had put the hosts ahead with a near-post finish from a Peter Pekarik cross, but Belfodil was found to have been an inch offside as he tackled Witsel ahead of his striking partner.
Then, as Erling Haaland chased down Mahmoud Dahoud’s pushed through pass, the Dortmund striker was ruled off-side even though Thorgan Hazard bundled over the Norwegian’s beautiful clipped finish. After an initial Thomas Meunier header, Axel Witsel assisted the ball across the line from the set piece, but the Belgian was also cautioned with no protests.
Those goals that did stand were the ones that counted. Dahoud worked the ball brilliantly infield start the move before Brandt opened the scoring with a fine finish after excellent vision from Haaland.
But, Belfodil produced a leveller in the second half with an excellent solo run down the left before poking past experienced goalkeeper Marwin Hitz.
After some shoddy defending from the visitors, Richter struck a stunning shot into the top corner to make it 2-1. Then, bizarrely more shoddy possession play from Marco Rose’s side handed Richter a second and Berlin a third. The offensive midfielder hammered home the rebound after Hitz’s first save from a Belfodil attempt that was not quickly dealt with.
On 83 minutes, Dortmund got a consolation goal that set up the game for a blockbuster finish after Steffen Tigges’ thunderous header from a Raphael Guerreiro delivery. However, Hertha held on to secure a vital three points.
Tayfun Korkut will be pleased with his team’s second-half performance as they climb to 11th in the Bundesliga table and pull away from the raging relegation battle below them, but Borussia Dortmund are now nine points behind Bayern Munich at the top, with the title seemingly slipping away from them before Christmas.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
