After eight Bundesliga games without a victory, Borussia Dortmund got back to winning ways against Mainz on Tuesday night. But new coach Peter Stöger wasn't taking the credit.
Image: Imago/Kirchner-Media
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The red cap had been replaced by a black one and the billy goat replaced by a yellow "1909," the year Borussia Dortmund was founded, but it was otherwise the same Peter Stöger who observed from the touchline in Mainz on Tuesday night.
Motionless, intense, calm and observant, the Austrian passed his initiation in the only way he knows how, as the struggling Black and Yellows finally ended their disastrous run of form with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Sokratis and Shinji Kagawa.
Just three days after his lunch date with his mother in Vienna was interrupted by a phone call from BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, a quick pat on the back for Christian Pulisic and a quiet word in the ear of Julian Weigl was about as energetic as it got from the 51-year-old former Cologne coach.
And it seemed that little had changed on the pitch either in an opening period where the best chances fell to the hosts, the dangerous Suat Serdar hitting the bar after just seven minutes. BVB on the other hand looked all too familiar and all too pedestrian, their endless horizontal passing matched only by the horizontal movement of the Dortmund ultras, bouncing back and forth across the away end.
Dortmund trainer Peter Stöger on TuesdayImage: picture alliance / Thomas Frey/dpa
Calm under pressure
But still Stöger was unmoved and even remained so ten minutes after the break when Sokratis half-volleyed Dortmund into the lead after fellow defender Ömer Toprak's header had come back off the post, the two center-backs operating in tandem.
Is that what sporting director Michael Zorc meant when spoke of Stöger's ability to restore some defensive coherence? Probably not but, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang anonymous and Andrey Yarmolenko still misfiring, there will have been no complaints from the Dortmund hierarchy.
Captain Marcel Schmelzer hadn't pulled punches in his criticism of his team's recent performances, leading to speculation that was all was not well within the Dortmund dressing room. So when Sokratis lead his teammates over to the bench following his goal, one suspected that Stöger had at least restored some sense of togetherness which had appeared to have utterly deserted the Dortmunders over the past two months.
Shinji Kagawa celebrates after scoring to make it 0-2 against MainzImage: Getty Images/Bongarts/S. Hofmann
Credit to the old coach
When Kagawa wrapped up the three points late on – equaling Stöger's personal tally for the season in one night – there was finally a display of emotion from the Austrian, a hug for Zorc and a thumbs-up to Watzke up above.
"The win does all of us of good,” said Stöger, referring to both Dortmund's bad run and his own poor record this season.
"But many of the positive things which I saw today are down to Peter Bosz, who has left a very good situation behind for me. I don't have a single negative word to say about him and I wish him all the best. Part of this victory belongs to him."
The cap may be different, the job bigger and the expectations higher. But the new Borussia Dortmund coach is the same modest Peter Stöger.
Bundesliga Matchday 16 in pictures
The Bundesliga features midweek games for the second time this term. The Peter Stöger era begins as Borussia Dortmund face Mainz and Leverkusen look to extend their unbeaten run. Leipzig held to a draw at Wolfsburg.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Petersen penalty stuns Gladbach
Nils Petersen's nerves of steel ensured back-to-back wins for Freiburg as Christian Streich's side welcomed an in-form Gladbach to the Schwarzwald-Stadion. His hat-trick against Cologne last weekend inspired an unlikely comeback from three goals down to win 4-3; he was at it again on Tuesday night, scoring the game's only goal from the spot.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Schmidt
Wolfsburg and Leipzig share the spoils
Paul Verhaegh's last 16 league goals have all come from the penatly spot; a new Bundesliga record. The home side will be stewing on a number of squandered chances from open play, however, as they secured a tenth draw of the season. Marcel Halstenberg drew Leipzig level on 52 minutes, though the visitors rarely looked like winning it.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
Dortmund back to winning ways
Sokratis spins away in delight after smashing Borussia Dortmund into the lead against Mainz. The Greek defender notched the first goal of the Peter Stöger era in a 2-0 victory which wasn't nearly as comfortable as the scoreline suggests. This was Dortmund's first Bundesliga victory since September, against Augsburg on Matchday 7.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Frey
Eintracht bounce back to sink Hamburg
Eintracht Frankfurt reversed an early defecit to collect all three points away at hapless Hamburg. Mijat Gacinovic provided the finishing touch on the game's decisive move, slotting home the second in the 24th minute. Frankfurt have now recorded five wins on the road this season and move up to fifth place in the table.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Rose
Staving off Stuttgart
Hoffenheim, who had just one win in their last six games coming into the contest, was not having much success against Stuttgart. But Mark Uth (bottom of the photo, sliding for the ball) was able to deliver the killing stroke after a shot from Pavel Kaderabek (right) clanged off the post. Uth now has eight goals on the season and remains one of the Bundesliga's top scorers.
Image: picture-alliance/Pressefoto Robin Rudel
Kalou carrying Hertha
After scoring a late equalizer against Augsburg over the weekend, Salomon Kalou scored two more goals in the first half in Hertha's game against Hannover on Wednesday. His teammates welcomed him with open arms after his first, likely grateful for the four points he has helped them secure over the past four days.
Image: Imago/Contrast
Lewandowski strikes again
Cologne did all they could to prevent the defending Bundesliga champions from scoring, even deploying defender Lukas Klünter as the lone forward. But there seems to be no stopping Robert Lewandowski (pictured), who scored the game's only goal — albeit not with very much style. The Polish striker now has 15 goals in 16 Bundesliga games and sits firmly atop the German league's goal scoring list.
Image: Reuters/M. Dalder
Second placed Schalke
Guido Burgstaller (third from left, mouth wide open) had much to be jubilant about as Schalke dispatched Augsburg 3-2 in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday. He doubled the lead for the Royal Blues shortly after the break, his seventh goal of the season. His side then was able to hold off Augsburg to rise to second in the Bundesliga table.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP Photo/M. Meissner
Early bird gets the win
Eleven minutes into Leverkusen's game with Werder Bremen, Lucas Alario (right) finished off a cross from Leon Bailey to open the scoring. It was the fastest goal the Werkself have scored this season, and it turned out to be the only goal they needed as they beat Bremen 1-0. Leverkusen are now in fourth place after extending their unbeaten run to 11 games.
