Little power, no cleverness: Borussia Dortmund showed nerves in the long-distance title duel with FC Bayern and may have squandered their best starting position in years. After the disappointing 1-1 draw (1-1) of the Bundesliga leaders at VfL Bochum on Friday evening, the pursuers from Munich can pass again with a home win over bottom Hertha BSC on Sunday.

In front of 26,000 spectators in the sold-out Ruhrstadion, Bochum goalscorer Anthony Losilla (5th minute) tore BVB out of all dreams of winning their first championship since 2012. Even Karim Adeyemi's immediate goal (7th) could not change the fact that Dortmund remained without a win away from home for the sixth time in a row across all competitions.

On the other hand, the fifteenth-placed team from Bochum had every reason to celebrate. After the surprising point win in a long-fought district derby, the club draws new courage in the fight to stay in the league.

"Friday night, derby, one team wants to become German champions, the other wants to stay in the league – there's nothing better," VfL coach Thomas Letsch said shortly before kick-off. And the teams offered the crowd a lot of spectacle right from the start, scoring a goal each with their first chances.

Prompt response

In Bochum's early lead, Losilla hit the ball perfectly into the corner from just under 17 yards, BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel stretched in vain. This was preceded by a successful dribbling by Takuma Asano, who had been preferred to Simon Zoller at VfL, against Raphael Guerreiro.

But the response of the title contenders, with captain Marco Reus again not in the starting line-up one day after his contract extension, followed promptly: after a long ball, Danilo Soares misjudged Dortmund's right attack, allowing Donyell Malen to break through and pass the ball sharply inside. Sébastien Haller touched him with the tip of his foot, but Adeyemi pushed him over the line to make it 1-1.

Weaknesses in the transition game

As a result, the BVB team, dubbed the "World Selection" by Letsch, tried to control the game and created more chances. In the 26th minute, Jude Bellingham and Adeyemi had Dortmund's second goal on their feet in a great chance after a counterattack. Bellingham's shot was strongly saved by VfL goalkeeper Manuel Riemann, who has recently been heavily criticised. With the very conspicuous Adeyemi, the hosts clearly had their problems.

But BVB also revealed weaknesses in the transition game, which Asano (35') and Philipp Hofmann (43') almost punished. Overall, Bochum were much improved compared to the 1-5 home defeat against VfL Wolfsburg a week earlier. They countered Dortmund's desire to play with strength in tackles and the joy of running and also looked for a way forward. BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl had expected nothing else: "They will scratch, bite and do everything."

Even after the change of sides, VfL defended compactly and passionately. Dortmund often lacked ideas in the final third of the pitch, and the slippery turf due to the increasing rain also made their combination play difficult. The visitors were unlucky when they were denied a penalty kick after Soares got in on Adeyemi in the penalty area (65th). BVB coach Terzic was very upset on the sidelines about this decision.

About fifteen minutes before the end, Terzic brought in two fresh attacking forces in Reus and Youssoufa Moukoko - and that paid off immediately. Moukoko (75th) had a great chance to make it 2-1 for Dortmund after a pass from Reus, who significantly increased the pressure. Mats Hummels scored an offside goal shortly before the end of regular time.