Borussia Dortmund kept their hopes of retaining the 1. Bundesliga title alive with a win in tremendously difficult conditions at Freiburg. A snow downpour for the duration of the game – plus a good coating that had fallen before proceedings began settling strongly – made the match a bit of a farce, but BVB coach Jürgen Klopp won’t mind, as his team are now nine points behind league-leaders Bayern Munich (who have a game in hand at home to Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow).
All afternoon, the weather conditions played havoc for defenders and attackers alike in gauging where the ball was going to land at any given point, if it moved at all. But, Freiburg and Dortmund both had spells where they adapted, putting their opponents under pressure, and it was the hosts who had the much stronger first-half, with anaemic Dortmund barely troubling home goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. However, after the break, the visitors – playing three days after a famous win in the Champions League against Real Madrid – looked slick and strong, and took the lead in the 53rd minute when Neven Subotić headed in a Marco Reus free-kick.
Seven minutes from time, Mario Götze sealed the three points against a Freiburg side who didn’t create enough chances in the second-half, and failed to convert those they did during the first 45 minutes. Despite today’s home defeat, something Freiburg don’t experience very often, coach Christian Streich will still be satisfied with the start his side have made to the 2012/13 season – 11 points from their opening nine games. They go to Borussia Mönchengladbach next weekend, while Dortmund host Stuttgart.
Starting formations
Freiburg (4-4-1-1, from right to left): Baumann; Jonathan Schmid, Matthias Ginter, Diagné Fallou, Mensur Mujdža; Karim Guédé, Cédric Makiadi, Julian Schuster, Daniel Caligiuri; Max Kruse; Erik Jendrišek
Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1, from right to left): Roman Weidenfeller; Łukasz Piszczek, Subotić, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer; İlkay Gündoğan, Sebastian Kehl; Reus, Götze, Kevin Großkreutz; Robert Lewandowski Continue reading
Defensive Midfielder 