Sabah 1-2 Dortmund: two Guirassy goals, and more left behind
AI-written review based on match data · How we make it
Key numbers
- xG 3.74: Dortmund's best of nine matches this season
- 22 shots, two goals: 1.74 below their xG
- Pokatilov's six saves kept the gap at one goal
Guirassy settles it in Baku
Borussia Dortmund won at Sabah thanks to two goals from Serhou Guirassy, the first early in the match. Sabah had levelled in the 39th minute through A. McCarthy, set up by Tymoteusz Puchacz, but Guirassy's second in the 53rd minute restored the lead and proved the winning goal. Dortmund led for about 66 minutes of the 90.
The numbers point to a wider margin
Dortmund created chances of a quality they had not managed all season: their xG of 3.74 was a season-best xG across their nine matches so far. They still finished 1.74 below it, which suggests the scoreline understated how well they created chances.
Sabah's goalkeeper kept it close
Sabah were not without threat. Their xG of 1.5 was the highest Dortmund have conceded this season, and S. Pokatilov made six saves to hold the deficit at one goal. Akim Zedadka won 10 duels, more than anyone on the pitch, while McCarthy's equaliser showed the home side could still hurt a Dortmund defence that has usually been hard to break down.
A reshuffled XI found the second goal
Joey Veerman, one of the players brought into Dortmund's XI, provided the assist for the 53rd-minute goal. It was worth +0.9 FN xPts to Dortmund and cost Sabah −0.7, the largest combined shift of the evening. Carney Chukwuemeka, another new starter, made the most key passes of any player on the pitch.
FN MOM
Highest FN Score · our own pick by a published formula, not the official Player of the Match
Joey Veerman 8.6Dominant
He provided one assist and had two shots on target.
As FN MOM, Veerman gained most in attack, but his influence spread further: he completed 69 of 79 passes, made four interceptions and won all four of his duels. His assist for the 53rd-minute goal restored Dortmund's lead after Sabah's equaliser, and the visitors did not give it up again.
Game state
0-11-11-2
Sabah FA ahead 0 min · level 24 min · Borussia Dortmund ahead 66 min
FN xPts — what each moment was worth
How much each moment changed that team's expected points (win 3, draw 1). A goal's value is credited 70% to the scorer and 30% to the assist. The value next to a team code is what the same moment did to the other side's expected points; the decisive moment is the one with the largest combined change for both teams.
10'
Serhou Guirassy
Goal · SAB −0.5
+0.6
39'
A. McCarthy
Goal · scorer +0.4 · assist Tymoteusz Puchacz +0.2 · BVB −0.8
+0.6
53'
Serhou Guirassy
Goal · scorer +0.6 · assist Joey Veerman +0.3 · SAB −0.7
+0.9
Sabah FA
Expected (no record yet, starting estimate) 1.0Own moments +0.6Opponent moments −1.2Time effect −0.4→ League points won 0
Borussia Dortmund
Expected (last two seasons) 1.7Own moments +1.5Opponent moments −0.8Time effect +0.6→ League points won 3
Expected points don't add up to a fixed total (a draw is 1 + 1), so an opponent's moment isn't simply the mirror of your loss. "Time effect" is the change as the clock runs down on a lead or a chase, and isn't credited to any player.
How FN Score and FN xPts work →
Match stats
Sabah FABorussia Dortmund
1.5Expected goals (xG)3.74
Compared with usual
Borussia Dortmund
9 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 2 | 2.1 | |
| Conceded | 1 | 0.78 | |
| xG | 3.74 | 1.8 | high |
| xG against | 1.5 | 1 | high |
| Shots | 22 | 17.1 | |
| On target | 9 | 5.9 | |
| Shots faced | 13 | 10.7 | |
| xG per shot | 0.17 | 0.12 | |
| Possession | 55% | 56.7% | |
| Passes | 502 | 544.7 | |
| Corners | 9 | 7.2 | |
| Fouls | 12 | 10.8 | |
Timeline
- 10'
Goal
Serhou Guirassy competition goal #3
- 22'
Yellow
Steve Solvet
- 39'
Goal
A. McCarthy assist Tymoteusz Puchacz
- 49'
Yellow
Ivan Lepinjica
- 53'
Goal
Serhou Guirassy competition goal #4 assist Joey Veerman
- 57'
Yellow
A. McCarthy
- 65'
Sub
Kaheem Parris → P. Mbina
- 65'
Sub
Du Queiroz → Alexey Isayev
- 71'
Sub
Felix Nmecha → Jobe Bellingham
- 71'
Sub
Carney Chukwuemeka → Marcel Sabitzer
- 72'
Sub
Ramy Bensebaini → Kouakou Joane Gadou
- 77'
Sub
Daniel Svensson → Maximilian Beier
- 81'
Sub
J. Mickels → C. Nwachukwu
- 81'
Sub
U. Rahmonaliyev → A. Xaybulayev
- 89'
Yellow
Akim Zedadka
- 90+1'
Sub
Fábio Silva → Ethan Nwaneri
Category leaders
- Key passesCarney Chukwuemeka5
- Duels wonAkim Zedadka10/11
- DribblesKaheem Parris2/3
- Defensive actionsAkim Zedadka5
- ShotsSerhou Guirassy8 (on target 4)
- Fouls wonAkim Zedadka5
#Borussia Dortmund#Sabah FA#UEFA Champions League#Serhou Guirassy#Joey Veerman#Match review
This review was written by AI from match data (API-Football). FN Score and FN xPts are calculated by Fulltime Note using a published formula.