bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund held by Heidenheim in hard-fought draw

03.02.2024

Borussia Dortmund's winning start to the year was ended as they drew 0-0 away to Heidenheim in the Matchday 20 opener.

Heidenheim 0-0 Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund headed to the Voith-Arena looking to continue their three-game winning start to 2024, but were without a number of key first-team players including Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Julian Brandt. As such, Die Schwarzgelben struggled to find fluidity early on, with their opponents instead having the better of the early chances. The hosts should have been in front around the quarter-hour mark, when Tim Kleindienst fired wide with the goal at his mercy following Salih Özcan's misplaced pass. Another fantastic opportunity fell the centre-forward's way shortly after, but he could only head ex-Dortmund youngster Jan-Niklas Beste's cross wide of the post. Against the run of play, BVB thought they had broken the deadlock midway through the half. However, Donyell Malen was in an offside position when he collected Youssoufa Moukoko's through-ball before rounding Kevin Müller and firing home from a tight angle. Ultimately, there was only one shot on target from either side prior to the interval, as Müller parried Jamie Bynoe-Gittens' long-ranged effort to safety.

After the interval, Dortmund enjoyed more possession and were put under less pressure in their own third, but they were initially unable to test Müller. While Malen and Niklas Süle both tried their luck in the opening stages, both attempts were wayward. In an attempt to invigorate their respective XIs, head coaches Frank Schmidt and Edin Terzić each made a triple substitution with around an hour on the clock, with the latter handing a debut to 22-year-old Ole Pohlmann. The winger fired a shot over the bar from inside the area, Nico Schlotterbeck forced an admittedly comfortable stop from Müller, and the shot-stopper produced a fine save to deny Niclas Füllkrug from outside the area, but Dortmund ultimately didn't do enough to pick up all three points. The visitors will stay in fourth regardless of RB Leipzig's result against Union Berlin on Sunday, but their lead could be cut to just one point if Die Roten Bullen prevail. Heidenheim, meanwhile, continue to impress in their maiden top-flight campaign as they sit ninth in the table.

Watch: Ian Maatsen on Dortmund's goalless draw

Match stats

Beste made 99 appearances for the Dortmund youths, but played just once for the first team, registering an assist in a 2017/18 DFB Cup first-round win over Rielasingen.
Heidenheim are unbeaten in their last six home matches (W3, D3), and have claimed 18 of their 24 points at the Voith-Arena.
They have also not tasted defeat in any of their previous seven Bundesliga games since a 2-1 defeat to RB Leipzig.
Marcel Sabitzer made his 200th appearance in the Bundesliga, while this was also Malen's 100th game for Dortmund.
Dortmund are unbeaten in their previous seven games in all competitions.
There had been at least one goal in each of Dortmund's previous 146 Bundesliga games - a league record. Schalke were the last team to contest a goalless draw with them (26 October 2019).

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Teams

Heidenheim: Müller - Traoré (Busch 61'), Mainka (c), Gimber, Föhrenbach - Maloney, Schöppner - Dinkçi (Sessa 61'), Pieringer (Schimmer 61'), Beste (Pick 70') - Kleindienst (Beck 89')
Unused subs: Eicher, Siersleben, Theuerkauf, Dovedan
Out: Keller (knee), Qenaj (knee), Thomalla (ill)
Coach: Frank Schmidt

Dortmund: Meyer - Meunier (Wolf 59'), Süle (c), Schlotterbeck, Maatsen - Malen, Sabitzer, Özcan (Can 59'), Bynoe-Gittens (Pohlmann 59') - Moukoko (Bensebaini 75'), Füllkrug
Unused subs: Lotka, Morey, Hummels, Wätjen, Bamba
Out: Adeyemi (ankle), Brandt (ill), Haller (international duty), Kobel (ill), Nmecha (hip), Reus (ill), Ryerson (knee), Sancho (muscular)
Coach: Edin Terzić