Wasteful Borussia Dortmund held to 1-1 draw by Bochum

A host of missed chances came back to bite Borussia Dortmund as they were held to a 1-1 draw by VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

There was misery for Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr derby as they needed an 85th minute equaliser from Julian Brandt to rescue a point against VfL Bochum. Despite dominating possession and creating a host of big chances, the Black and Yellows weren’t able to get the better of last season’s 2. Bundesliga champions. And they now find themselves six points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga title race.

Borussia Dortmund were without the suspended Marco Rose as they made the short trip to Bochum on Saturday. Erling Haaland made his return to the starting XI in place of Donyell Malen. And BVB were also boosted by the returns of Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt, with the duo starting on the bench. Raphael Guerreiro missed the game due to muscular problems.

Borussia Dortmund did not look to be at their very best in the first half, but still managed to create a couple of really good chances. Manuel Riemann made important saves to deny Jude Bellingham, Marco Reus and Erling Haaland.

After being under the cosh for the majority of the first half, Bochum were handed a gift in the 40th minute as Gregor Kobel came off his line and fouled Christopher Antwi-Adjei inside the box. Sebastian Polter sent the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper the wrong way and tucked home his penalty to give the home side a narrow lead going into the break.

Borussia Dortmund made an electric start to the second half and had three shots cleared off the line in the space of 15 minutes. The pressure looked to have finally paid off in the 54th minute, with Marius Wolf turning Marco Reus’ pass into the back of the net. But VAR disallowed the goal as Jude Bellingham was deemed to be obstructing the goalkeeper’s view from an offside position.

Dortmund continued to give everything to find their way back into the game, but the home side threw all 11 men behind the ball and defended with great resolve.

Substitute Julian Brandt did manage to equalise for Borussia Dortmund after getting on the end of Erling Haaland’s cross with five minutes to go. But Dortmund weren’t able to find a late winner and had to settle for a point in the end.

The result is a big blow for Borussia Dortmund, who are now six points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga table. But they will have to lift themselves up again quickly, with a home game against Greuther Fürth coming up on Wednesday.