Borussia Dortmund go top of the Bundesliga – with Bayern Munich playing in the Topspiel – with goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier securing a 2-0 win for die Schwarzgelben at the Voith-Arena, in what was a controlling performance.

Early Heidenheim red card sets tone for Borussia Dortmund performance

Niko Kovač made four changes to the team that beat Union Berlin prior to the international break. Julian Ryerson, Pascal Groß, Felix Nmecha and Karim Adeyemi started ahead of Angel Anselmino, Jobe Bellingham, Marcel Sabitzer and Julian Brandt. And it was the visitors who probed for an early goal when Adeyemi raced onto a through ball, which was collected by Heidenheim goalkeeper Diant Ramaj, on loan from Dortmund.

Although Dortmund probed they were unable to break through a resilient Heidenheim defence, that changed when Budu Zivzivadze was shown a straight red card for a studs up challenge on Nmecha midway through the first half. It then took Serhou Guirassy just 11 minutes to find the net against 10 men Heidenheim when the Guinean forward headed in the opening goal following an excellent cross from Ryerson from deep.

Maximilian Beier then doubled Dortmund’s lead six minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half. Adeyemi was at the heart of it, coasting past Benedikt Gimber before finding Beier unmarked when he could have quite easily taken on the shot himself.

It was then more of the same from Dortmund as they controlled the game in the second half, with Guirassy coming close again, forcing Ramaj into a save just past the hour mark after the Dortmund forward was put through by Bellingham. Kovač’s side would then dominate the final 15 minutes of the game, playfully passing the ball around the edge of Heidenheim’s penalty area without any real penetration, although Carney Chukwuemeka fired a late effort over Ramaj’s bar.

While it wasn’t convincing from Borussia Dortmund, they got the job done. The Voith-Arena has typically been a difficult place for teams to play at, and die Schwarzgelben travel back up north with three points courtesy of goals from Guirassy and Beier.

Heidenheim vs Borussia Dortmund Player Ratings

Heidenheim (4-2-3-1): Ramaj (7) – Traoré (5), Mainka (6), Gimber (3), Pacarada (-) – Kerber (4), Schöppner (6) – Ibrahimovic (6), Beck (5), Honsak (6) – Zivzivadze (1)

Others: Jonas Föhrenbach (6), Marnon Busch (5), Sirlord Conteh (5), Mikkel Kaufmann (-), Tim Siersleben (-)

Borussia Dortmund (3-4-2-1): Kobel (6) – Ryerson (7), Anton (6), Bensebaini (6) – Couto (7), Groß (5), Nmecha (6), Svensson (6) – Adeyemi (7), Beier (6) – Guirassy (7)

Others: Carney Chukwuemeka (6), Jobe Bellingham (6), Cole Campbell (-), Salih Özcan (-), Filippo Mané (-)

Serhou Guirassy has scored in his eighth Bundesliga game in a row – among all non-German players in Bundesliga history, and is bettered only by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski. The Guinean’s opening goal against 10-man Heidenheim set the tone. While Guirassy’s finishing is impressive, his worth ethic off the ball is unrivalled. There’s no doubt that the 29-year-old is one of football’s most under-appreciated forwards.