Arminia Bielefeld 1 - 3 Dortmund: Dortmund delight as Blues’ struggles continue

Borussia Dortmund bounced back from an emphatic midweek defeat with a 3-1 victory over Arminia Bielefeld, although a late penalty denied BVB their first Bundesliga clean sheet of the season. 

At a packed Bielefelder Alm, it was the home side who asked the early questions thanks to a series of misplaced passes from Dortmund. Robin Hack’s smart turn in the box created a brief opening after 10 minutes, although his tame finish was disappointing after some neat build-up. 

Minutes later, Janni Serra’s spurned one-on-one chance seemed to wake Marco Rose’s side up, and soon afterwards a clumsy challenge in the box allowed Emre Can to convincingly slot home from the spot due to Erling Haaland’s injury absence. 

Building on their newfound momentum, Mats Hummels doubled the advantage in spectacular fashion before the break, adding to his unlikely brace in this fixture last season with a stunning volley from the edge of the box.

‘The Blues’ squandered another two chances to mount a comeback in the second half, firstly through summer signing Guilherme Ramos whose header found the side netting, before Patrick Wimmer’s powerful strike was palmed away. 

Impressive youngster Jude Bellingham made them pay with a mesmerising run, capped off with an assured chip over Stefan Ortega to add gloss to the scoreline and continue his sensational start to the campaign. A late Fabian Klos penalty was Bielefeld’s first goal against Dortmund since 2008, but it will come as little consolation.

The result keeps BVB within touching distance of rivals Bayern Munich, while the outlook remains bleak for Bielefeld whose winless run now stretches to nine Bundesliga games. Donyell Malen’s failure to notch his first league goal of the season will come as a minor blow to the away side, but they still managed to bank a precious three points with an under-strength side.