Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 2-1 defeat of FC Koln as Serhou Guirassy was back among the goals.
The Guinean international struck a header after 16 minutes as Dortmund lead early on and soon gained numerical advantage with Jahmai Simpson-Pusey's red card in the added minutes.
Maximilian Beier, who fed Guirassy for the opener with a neat header, then turned the scorer himself, arrowing one into the bottom corner to double his side's advantage.
Niko Kovac's side appeared to have the game in the bag until Jakub Kaminski pulled one back for the Billy Goats in the dying embers for a nervous finale.
Unfortunately for the hosts, there was no late equalizer as Dortmund saw it out and claimed all three points for their first top-flight win in three games.
Guirassy back among goals; haunts former side
After drawing a blank against RB Leipzig, Atalanta and Bayern Munich in three consecutive games, Guirassy ended his goalscoring drought on Saturday with a close finish against Koln, a side he knows well.
The striker played two and a half seasons at Koln between 2016 and 2019, scoring just nine times in 45 games. When he returned to his old stomping ground last weekend, it was almost written in the stars for him to score.
Make that 12 league goals for the season and 17 in all competitions.
Yet another unconvincing win
Dortmund got the job done, but not in a convincing fashion. How many times this season have we seen the side win by just a one-goal margin? If your memory isn't serving you, let us help - there have been eight such occasions in the Bundesliga.
That is literally half of their total number of top-flight victories in the competition this season. When 50% of your league wins have come by just one goal, it's worth contemplating on the squad quality, consistency and their title credentials.
Dortmund defense breached again
For the fifth time in their last six league outings, Dortmund have failed to keep a clean sheet. Although their title ambitions are effectively dashed, it is still a cause for concern for Niko Kovac.
Against Koln too when the match was almost sewn up with the Black and Yellows leading 2-0, the visitors contrived to concede late on having taken their feet off the pedal.
If they are to compete for the league crown again next season, this has to change.