Beier’s late goal lifts Dortmund past Frankfurt 1-0

Maximilian Beier curled in an 80th-minute winner as Borussia Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday to sit on top of the Bundesliga table.

Beier, who came on as a substitute, finished from outside the penalty area after fellow replacement Jobe Bellingham cut the ball back to him. The shot found the far corner, and Frankfurt could not find an equalizer despite pushing numbers forward in the closing minutes.

The result ends a short winless run in the league for Dortmund, who had drawn their previous two Bundesliga matches. Coach Niko Kovač had made only one change to his starting lineup, with Marcel Sabitzer coming into the side for Carney Chukwuemeka.

Dortmund controlled much of the game without breaking through before the break. Serhou Guirassy was denied twice by Frankfurt goalkeeper Noah Atubolu in the opening 20 minutes, and the first half finished goalless. At the other end, Gregor Kobel stopped Younes Ebnoutalib in a one-on-one, while Jonathan Burkardt shot narrowly wide for the visitors.

The home side pushed harder after the restart. Guirassy hit the crossbar with a header from a corner in the 53rd minute, and Farès Chaïbi forced a save from Kobel for Frankfurt soon after the break. Kovač then sent on Beier, Ethan Nwaneri and Chukwuemeka in a triple change in the second half, and the changes paid off when Beier scored shortly after Bellingham arrived.

According to livescore.com, Dortmund had 58.4 per cent of possession and 18 shots, while Frankfurt managed three on target and made 48 clearances. Kobel finished with three saves. Felix Nmecha was named man of the match, according to bundesliga.com.

Dortmund now turn to the Klassiker against Bayern Munich next weekend. Bayern visit Freiburg on Sunday, when Bayer Leverkusen also travel to Hoffenheim, so the table could look different by the time the two sides meet.

Saturday’s slate also included Paderborn against Hamburg, Köln against Schalke, Mainz against Werder Bremen, Augsburg against Union Berlin and RB Leipzig against Elversberg, all with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff on the Bundesliga schedule, after Stuttgart hosted Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday.

Dortmund’s squad changed in the summer, when Barcelona agreed to sign forward Karim Adeyemi from the club in July. Kovač’s bench, with Beier, Bellingham, Nwaneri and Chukwuemeka all featuring, decided this game.

Elsewhere in European football on Saturday, Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 in the Premier League, and Arsenal won 2-0 against Everton.

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Via bundesliga.com and livescore.com.