Bochum 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
DFB Pokal
Round of 16
Wednesday
8th February 2023
Vonovia Ruhrstadion
Goals: 0-1 Can (45’+1), 1-1 Stöger (penalty 64’), 1-2 Reus 70’ (asst: Bellingham)
Borussia Dortmund has reached the eighth finals of the DFB-Pokal. On a visit to VfL Bochum, the yellow-blacks won 1-2. The absolute highlight was the moment of the opening goal just before half time, by Emre Can.
What happened? Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Reimann came out to intercept a deep pass from the yellow-black visitors. The 34-year-old keeper did fine in itself, but he cleared the ball over the axis of the field. Emre Can was standing there in the center circle. The German-Turkish midfielder did not think and lashed out.
A Bochum defender who thought he could intercept the ball started his sliding just too late. The same was true for Reimann: the keeper thought he could return to his goal in a run. When he recognized the danger, it was already too late: 0-1 for Dortmund.
Can was in the center circle ready to take a swing. Not hard, but flawless: 0-1. Bochum straightened his back after the break against the big neighbor and came from a penalty kick at the same height. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens was penalized for hands, Kevin Stöger made no mistake from the spot.
What is next for Bochum?
Thomas Letsch’s team could not enjoy the boost for long. Jude Bellingham went after Reimann, Marco Reus tagged along, the Englishman wasn’t selfish and the German had him in an empty goal before sliding in. Dortmund, with Sébastien Haller again in the starting line-up, was thus put on the winning track. Opportunities to expand the margin were wasted on Dortmund, but no account was taken of it.
The superpower won this Ruhr Derby and thus remains in the race to win the German Cup for the sixth time in club history, in addition to the competition and the Champions League. That was the last time in 2021. Letsch and Bochum can focus on the competition, and with a fifteenth place in the standings there is still work to be done there.
