Borussia Dortmund beat Real Betis 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday as Fabio Silva and Konstantinos Karetsas were on target for the BVB. Here are the three key talking points from the win:
1) Guirassy injury scare
Borussia Dortmund cannot seem to get a break from injuries just yet. The latest to fall is Serhou Guirassy, who had to go off in the 34th minute. But the problem arose much earlier. While attempting to connect with a cross from Julian Ryerson, Guirassy slid past the ball and collided awkwardly near the post. Although he picked himself, the Guinean was visibly not the same again.
In the 31st minute, Guirassy went down again with a discomfort in his thigh and received medical attention on the sidelines. Although he returned once again, the problem seemed to persist and head coach Niko Kovac finally put him out of his misery by replacing the 30-year-old with Konstantinos Karetsas, who eventually scored the winning goal. But Guirassy's condition offers fresh cause for concern for the side.
2) Silva rises to the occasion
With no Guirassy to bank upon in the second half, Fabio Silva tied the lasso to his hip and went hell for leather, scoring and assisting two goals to guide Dortmund past Betis. He broke the deadlock by tapping home a rebound off Jobe Bellingham's initial effort. The Portuguese was at the right place to make the finish, demonstrating his instincts inside the box.
But he didn't stop there. The 24-year-old set up Karetsas for the second too, prancing forward on the right before laying it off for the Greek on the edge oh the box. He then took a touch before slamming it home in the near corner with an unstoppable low-drive for 2-1. With a direct hand in both of BVB's goals on the night, Silva proved he can step up when it really matters and deliver.
3) More impeccable substitution from Kovac
We've discussed this a few times already, how Borussia Dortmund have mastered the art of turning games around through impeccable substitutions. The story repeated on Wednesday as Karetsas, who replaced the injured Guirassy, popped up with the winning goal just five minutes after Betis had equalized.
While Niko Kovac's changes have yielded dividends consistently in the Bundesliga, we saw it make a difference in the Champions League for the first time this season, with Karetsas displaying incredible composure and technique to dispatch his chance clinically despite having a few green shirts around him.
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