BVB wins against Villarreal – but worries about injured players predominate

Dortmund won the first Champions League game of the new season against FC Villarreal 3-2 (0-0). That was a good and deserved result, but it wasn't so much this result that moved Dortmund that evening. A city is worried about a footballer. Again.

After all, it had only been ten days since Borussia's new Greek attacker Giannis Konstantelias tore his cruciate ligament in the first Bundesliga game of the new season. The 23-year-old, who came from Paok Saloniki for 26 million euros in the summer, will be out for months. As a replacement for Konstantelias, BVB has loaned 19-year-old Ethan Nwaneri from Arsenal FC. Nwaneri was on the substitutes' bench at the start of the game on Tuesday evening. It was all the more bizarre that he, who was actually signed as a replacement for Konstantelias, came on as a substitute for Karetsas in the 27th minute.

Up in the stands, BVB sports director Lars Ricken nervously ran his hands through his hair. Karetsas was taken to the hospital. BVB announced during the second half that Karetsas had circulatory problems and that he was doing well under the circumstances. BVB's Greek tragedy is not necessarily threatened with a second act.

Even without this loss, coach Niko Kovac had to make a puzzle for the starting eleven. “A little bit of magic,” he says. He had to do the same in the Bundesliga games against Hamburger SV (2-0) and at TSG Hoffenheim (3-2).

On Tuesday evening, Kovac was missing six relevant players: Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini (both injured and suspended), Emre Can, Filippo Mane, Giannis Konstantelias and Justin Lerma (all injured). That's why Joane Gadou, Waldemar Anton and Daniel Svensson once again formed the three-man defense chain, which was complemented by Julian Ryerson on the right wing and Maximilian Beier on the left wing. Marcel Sabitzer initially played alongside Karetsas in the attacking midfield. Then Nwaneri came into play.

Despite Dortmund's dominance, the guests had the better chances in the first half. At the beginning of the second half, Dortmund became more compelling. In the 51st minute, Nwaneri shot at the inside post. Two minutes later, an own goal from Renato Veiga gave Dortmund a 1-0 lead. Although Santiago Mouriño equalized for Villarreal in the 66th minute to make it 1-1, Serhou Guirassy made it 2-1 in the 80th minute with his 63rd BVB goal in his 100th competitive game for Dortmund. In the 85th minute he seemed to make the 3-1 victory perfect with his 64th BVB goal from a penalty kick. But Guirassy made another blemish in stoppage time: the 3-2 goal with an own goal.