Beier Sends Dortmund Top With 1-0 Win

Borussia Dortmund moved to the top of the Bundesliga with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, October 24. Substitute Maximilian Beier scored the only goal in the 80th minute, after a clever pass from fellow substitute Jobe Bellingham.

It was a game short on clear chances. The best opportunity of the first half fell to Serhou Guirassy after 15 minutes. He was clean through on Frankfurt goalkeeper Noah Atubolu but tried a soft chip, and the keeper palmed it away. Just after the break, Guirassy headed a Joey Veerman corner against the crossbar.

Dortmund made their changes with around 22 minutes left. Beier replaced the quiet Fabio Silva, and Bellingham also came off the bench. The pair combined ten minutes from time. Bellingham found Beier in space, and the forward curled a shot into the net from just inside the box.

The win was Dortmund's first in the league since mid-September. They had started the season with six straight wins, but came into the weekend in a mini slump, having won just one of their previous four games in all competitions. That run included a 1-0 defeat at Bodo/Glimt earlier this month. Coach Niko Kovac said his side had a great team, and that the players who start on the bench are the ones who close out matches. He also said he was happy for Beier, who had a tough spell recently.

Dortmund are on 17 points from seven games, with five wins, two draws and no defeats. That puts them three points clear of Bayern Munich, who are on 14. Bayern can return to the top with a win at Freiburg on Sunday, October 25.

The next big test comes quickly. Dortmund travel to Bayern for Der Klassiker on Saturday, October 31. Both teams are still unbeaten in the league, so the fixture will be a key early marker in the title race.