Dortmund maintain perfect Bundesliga start through Beier’s late strike

The result extended Dortmund’s winning run to four league matches and six victories across all competitions lifting Niko Kovac’s side to the top of the table following results. 

For Stuttgart meanwhile it was another afternoon in what has been a sluggish opening to the campaign leaving them 14th after collecting only three points from four matches.

Match highlight

Dortmund began with intent. Should have been ahead inside five minutes. Julian Ryerson delivered an inviting ball into the penalty area for Beier. The forward headed narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

That opportunity proved to be the visitors’ moment of a largely subdued first half. Despite arriving in Stuttgart with confidence after five successive competitive wins Dortmund struggled to produce their usual attacking fluency. They did not register a shot on target before the interval.

Stuttgart although short of early-season momentum matched their opponents well. Sebastian Hoeneb’s side were disciplined without the ball. Showed enough threat to trouble Dortmund. Seven minutes before time Bilal El Khannouss came close to giving the hosts the lead steering a header narrowly wide of the right post.

The contest remained a battle after the break. Hoeneb and Kovac two of the Bundesliga’s experienced active coaches appeared to have set up their sides to cancel one another out. Dortmund thought they had found a breakthrough seven minutes into the half when Ethan Nwaneri had the ball in the net but the effort was ruled out.

With the game entering its 20 minutes Dortmund eventually found the quality required to separate the sides. Jobe Bellingham delivered a ball into the penalty area, where Beier escaped his marker and applied a composed close-range finish beyond Fabian Bredlow.

It was Beier’s first league goal of the season and one that carried value in a contest decided by fine margins. Stuttgart attempted to force a response but Dortmund managed the closing stages with composure and defensive discipline.

The win may not have been as convincing, as some of Dortmund’s earlier performances this season. It demonstrated another important quality: the ability to grind out results when their attacking rhythm is restricted. Die Schwarzgelben remain flawless after four Bundesliga fixtures. Now sit at the summit while Stuttgart must quickly find greater consistency to avoid being dragged further into the lower reaches of the table.