Guirassy carries Dortmund, control must wait

Serhou Guirassy scored twice to secure a valuable Dortmund victory in Baku. The visitors produced 22 shots and nine efforts on target, enough attacking output to win more comfortably. Their failure to sustain their best spells nevertheless kept Sabah in the contest.

Dortmund needed a win. It leaves Baku with three points, six from three Champions League fixtures and a clear answer to its immediate problem: Serhou Guirassy. The Guinea striker scored in the 10th and 53rd minutes, either side of Aden McCarthy’s 39th-minute equaliser. The result reflects Dortmund’s attacking advantage. It does not turn the performance into a demonstration of control.

BVB’s difficulty was less a lack of attacking production than an inability to sustain it. Twice Dortmund went ahead. Twice it subsequently allowed Sabah to find space and confidence. Winning does not require controlling every minute, but a one-goal lead is a fragile substitute for keeping opponents away from dangerous areas.

Niko Kovac paired Guirassy with Fábio Silva, using Carney Chukwuemeka behind the forwards and Felix Nmecha to advance from midfield. The early benefit was clear: several players could contribute to the same attacking move, rather than leaving the centre-forward to manufacture something alone.

Silva had two early opportunities, but Stas Pokatilov stood firm. Dortmund’s opener then showed the value of its attacking connections. Progress down the right and combinations near the penalty area created a shooting opportunity for Nmecha. Pokatilov could only push the ball out, and Guirassy followed in to finish from close range.

The striker’s contribution was anticipation. He did not produce the initial shot; he recognised where the loose ball could fall and continued the action when the goalkeeper could no longer control it.

That breakthrough should have given Dortmund the platform for a calmer match. Instead, Sabah gradually returned to the game as the visitors’ attacks became less structured. A Joy-Lance Mickels goal disallowed for offside provided a warning. In the 39th minute, Tymoteusz Puchacz’s free-kick reached McCarthy at the far post, where his header levelled the score.

This was a specific defensive failure. Dortmund allowed an opponent to attack a dangerous area from a set piece. Waldemar Anton’s lost duel mattered, although blaming the entire move on one defender would let the rest of the defensive organisation escape scrutiny. Gregor Kobel then denied Veljko Simic and Kaheem Parris before the interval, preventing Sabah from turning its improved spell into a lead.

The winner required a different skill. Joey Veerman delivered from the right, and Guirassy met the ball at the far post with an acrobatic left-footed finish. In the 53rd minute, the striker converted a delivery that still required considerable technical execution.

The difference between his goals explains his importance. The first depended on anticipation and penalty-area presence. The second demanded a much more difficult finish. He solved two different attacking situations, rather than merely repeating the same action. That influence is the basis of our player-of-the-match choice.

Yet Dortmund did not finish the contest off. Changes around the 72nd minute failed to remove its instability. In the 75th, a poor Nico Schlotterbeck pass presented Patrick Orphe Mbina with an opportunity. Under pressure from Daniel Svensson, the forward failed to find the target. Dortmund ultimately held on, but had allowed an opponent another route back into a match it should have managed more securely.

These figures do not support the idea of an undeserved Dortmund victory. BVB had more shots, more efforts on target and more corners. But totals alone cannot show when a team protects itself after losing possession, controls the space between its units or stops an opponent building momentum. Sabah’s spell before half-time and Mbina’s later opportunity illustrate the limits of Dortmund’s statistical advantage.

Guirassy finished with eight shots, four on target. Veerman supplied an assist and three key passes. Both made tangible contributions to the win. The collective task remains equally clear: manage the minutes after scoring more effectively and avoid mistakes in possession that make an open match dangerous again.

Dortmund can welcome the points, its chance creation and the output of its Guinean striker. It needs to demand considerably more from its management of difficult spells. In Baku, Guirassy decided who won. He did not resolve the question of collective control.

SNA Contribution

As of 20 October, Guirassy has four goals from three appearances in the 2026–27 Champions League. His Baku double extends a productive European start. That finishing output should not obscure the difference between the centre-forward’s contribution and Dortmund’s collective control.

Sabah–Dortmund highlights from the official Borussia Dortmund channel.