Dortmund squanders precious points against Bochum, Malen fails to score once

Borussia Dortmund lost very precious points in the away match against VfL Bochum, a stone’s throw from their own home venue, in the battle for the title. Against VFL Bochum, it was 1-1.

Dutchman and former PSV player Donyell Malen failed to score a goal in the sixth league game in a row.

The tie means Dortmund could lose the lead to Bayern Munich again this weekend, after taking first place last weekend. Dortmund will lose first place if Bayern wins at home to Hertha BSC on Sunday.

The match had an enthralling start. Anthony Losilla put Bochum ahead after only five minutes. The Frenchman shot the ball beautifully into the cross from the edge of the penalty area via the fingertips of Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

Two minutes later it was hit at the other end. Karim Adeyemi tapped in a cross from Malen, after former Ajax player Sébastien Haller did not get his foot right against the ball.

In the remainder of the first half, goal scorer Adeyemi had more good chances, but they were not cashed in. Bochum, which is trained by former Vitesse coach Thomas Letsch, also became dangerous several times. Japan’s Takuma Asano, for example, made himself heard.

Although Dortmund was better in the second half, Edin Terzic’s team struggled to break down Bochum’s stiff wall. Youssoufa Moukoko and Jude Bellingham were close, but their efforts were cleverly turned away by Manuel Riemann.

In addition, Malen, who was substituted just before time, became dangerous through a fine slash. His attempt too did not yield a goal. Finally, redemption for Dortmund seemed to come in injury time. Mats Hummels headed in. However, the linesman saw that it was offside.

The liberating goal failed to materialize and so Dortmund must idly wait for Bayern Munich’s result this weekend.