Guirassy Nets Brace as Dortmund Edge Sabah 2-1 in Baku

Guirassy buried the rebound in the 10th minute

Dortmund pressed from the first whistle, with a pair of forwards opening up the play straight away. Ryerson, Chukwuemeka and Silva linked up, and then Nmecha unleashed a shot from roughly sixteen metres. Sabah’s keeper Stas Pokatilov palmed away the initial effort, but Guirassy reached the rebound first and turned it in from close range.

Pokatilov later denied Joey Veerman from a free kick. Sabah also saw a goal disallowed for a close offside call after Joy-Lance Mickels had put the ball in the net. Dortmund kept their advantage, but the hosts had shown they could cause problems whenever space opened up behind the visitors’ back line.

McCarthy levelled from a free kick before half-time

Tymoteusz Puchacz swung a delivery into the six-yard area in the 39th minute. Centre-back Aden McCarthy climbed above the Dortmund defenders and headed past Gregor Kobel. That made it 1-1 at the interval, and Dortmund had not once fallen behind in the match up to that point.

Before the break, Kobel kept Sabah from going ahead by stopping efforts from Veljko Simic and Parris. Those moments showed why Dortmund still needed another goal, even though they had enjoyed more possession and more attempts in the first half.

Guirassy grabbed the winner in the 53rd minute

Veerman whipped in a cross from the right, and Guirassy controlled it with his left foot from close range. That finish put Dortmund back in front at 2-1. Sabah continued to push forward but could not find a second equaliser before the final whistle.

The double took Guirassy to 21 Champions League goals in 27 appearances for Borussia Dortmund. The first arrived after he pounced on a saved shot, while the second came from getting on the end of a cross. In both cases he was already inside the penalty area rather than shooting from distance.

Dortmund leave Baku with three points

Dortmund made 22 attempts on goal, against 12 from Sabah. It was Dortmund’s second Champions League win of the season. The result lifted them to six points from three matches and gave them an immediate response to their defeat at Bodø/Glimt in the previous round.

Sabah stayed in contention to the very end and kept Dortmund protecting a one-goal lead. The game was settled by Guirassy’s two sharp finishes in the box and Kobel’s saves before half-time, rather than any late rally by Borussia.