Alcacer late show sets up potential title decider for BVB at Bayern Munich

Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre admits that he isn’t averse to risk. And his love of risky business paid off handsomely as BVB stormed back to the top of the table with a late, late show that floored Wolfsburg.

Favre watched his side overcome the visitors with two late goals from Paco Alcacer that secured victory over the visitors and a return to the summit of the Bundesliga with rivals Bayern Munich being held to a draw at Freiburg.

Dortmund, missing influential leading scorer Marco Reus, were heading for a stalemate when Spain striker Alcacer popped up to score from a free-kick in what was the first minute of stoppage time. And he then sealed the deal to the delight of the BVB fans when he slotted home just before the whistle.

Favre said he was impressed with the manner in which his team refused to get flustered with the game frustratingly stuck at 0-0. He added: “We’ve stayed calm because we know anything is possible until the whistle. We really wanted to score in the last 15 minutes, so we also increased the risk a bit. Both teams defended well and had good phases in the game. We put on pressure, but Wolfsburg were also dangerous with long balls and counter-attacks, especially in the second half.”

BVB playmaker Mario Gotze says the belief coursing through the collective convinced him that goods things would eventually come along at Signal Iduna Park. He added: “We obviously always believed that we could score a goal here at home. It was a very difficult match; it wasn’t easy for us against Wolfsburg, who produced a good away performance. If you look at the matches in Berlin and then this one, then it’s good that we managed to get the goals at the end. It’s obviously fortunate, but it’s partly attributable to the quality of our team. It’s important to know that we can be dangerous until the last minute.”

Meanwhile, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji says the impending game against Bayern Munich next up is now the central focus of the outfit with nothing left to chance in preparing for what could well turn out to be a title-deciding clash. Favre’s side go to Munich on Saturday (April 6).

And Akanji said: “It was an even match. I think that a draw would’ve been a fair result too. We believed we were capable of winning until the end and ultimately got the two goals. The victory will continue to give us self-confidence. Hopefully we can get another win on Saturday. That’ll be very difficult, but now what we need to do is prepare for that.”

BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke believes that the victory sets up the game in Munich nicely, adding: “We played very cautiously, especially in the first period. It’s great that we managed to end the game like that. It’s a psychological boost for us to travel to Munich as league leaders and to know that we can edge things a little further in our direction if we win there.”