Borussia wearing the Tuesday face

Weekdays, floodlights, cup games. That's what Borussia is best in this year. And that's what it looked like in yesterday's game in Hamburg. Under normal circumstances, a match against a weak St. Pauli side, who had struggled massively over the last weeks in the second division, would not have been a huge task at all. But these times are not the normal circumstances, as Borussia had indeed been poor against struggling teams over the last weeks in the Bundesliga. Therefore, tension was bigger than usual prior to kick-off — and so was relief afterwards.

It was in particular the first half, when Borussia pretty much looked as in earlier years, that paved the way for an easy victory. From the start on, our side was dominant in all aspects, with good scoring opportunities minute by minute. Just to mention a few, nice shots by Hummels and Mkhitaryan were brilliantly saved by St. Pauli's goalkeeper Tschauner, a Kagawa try was wide right, and when Immobile scored in the 18th minute, the linesman saw him offiside, but, though close, he wasn't. Things got better 15 minutes later, as the Italian striker scored again. After a beautiful combination in the box, Großkreutz passed to Kagawa who found Immobile, and Ciro converted easily. This time, the goal counted.

Following Borussia's first score, St. Pauli started taking part in the match. After a corner kick, it was Gonther's header which forced Mitch Langerak to a nice safe for the only time within the first 45 minutes. On the other side of the pitch, Reus had two good chances prior to half time — and the latter led to a comfortable lead. Winning the ball deep in the opponent's half, it was Immobile, who set up the goal with a nice cross that found the German international.

2-0 ahead, our team somehow loosened the reins, giving St. Pauli the opportunity to get back into the game. A couple of minutes into the second half, a Kringe shot was deflected by one of his teammates and missed the right post just by centimeters, and some further ten minutes later it was Langerak again who saved, this time against Daube. Scoring chances for Borussia were rare now, but apart from the afore-mentioned two opportunities, St. Pauli was harmless, too. Thus, the game was essentially over, when Kagawa scored Dortmund's third goal. Following a horrible mistake by Tschauner, who cleared the ball right into his feet, the Japanese converted without any problems.

So, where do we stand right now? The game against Bayern ahead, Borussia looks great in Champions League and cup games, but plays horrible in Bundesliga. At least, the floodlights will be on on Saturday, and maybe someone will play the Champions League anthem in Munich. Then everything is possible.

Stats

FC St. Pauli: Tschauner – Startsev (Kalla 46.), Gonther, Sobiech, Ziereis – Kurt, Kringe (Thy 72.) – Rzatkowski, Daube, Nöthe – Verhoek (Maier 55.)

Borussia Dortmund: Langerak – Sokratis, Subotic, Hummels, Durm – Kehl – Mkhitaryan (Jojic 78.), Kagawa (Ramos 88.), Reus (Bender 65.), Großkreutz - Immobile

Goals: 0-1 Immobile (33.), 0-2 Reus (44.), 0-3 Kagawa (86.)

Referee: Günter Perl

Scherben, 29.10.2014