Borussia Dortmund rely on Guirassy again in narrow win over Sabah FA

Serhou Guirassy scored both goals and finished with a 9.5 rating as Borussia Dortmund beat Sabah FA 2-1 away in Azerbaijan in the UEFA Champions League league phase. The striker struck in the 10th and 53rd minutes in a game Dortmund never fully controlled, but they still left with six points after three rounds.

Guirassy settled the game Dortmund never owned

This was the kind of away performance where Dortmund needed a finisher more than a flourish player, and Guirassy gave them exactly that. He scored early, then restored the lead soon after the break, and most of Dortmund's attacking threat ran through him all night.

His shot volume tells the story better than any broad verdict. Guirassy had eight attempts and put four on target, so even in a scrappy game he kept dragging the attack forward. When the game needed deciding, he was the one doing the work.

SPORT1, quoting its match report in translation from German, summed it up like this: "Double scorer Serhou Guirassy secured Borussia Dortmund a successful ending to this gruelling trip across Europe."

That feels fair. Dortmund won, but this was not one of those nights where the collective performance buried the opponent. It was tighter than that, and the striker's finishing was the difference.

A Bola, in comments translated from Portuguese, made a similar point: "As in the first half, Dortmund came back strongly from the dressing room and needed only five minutes to go back into the lead and through the usual suspect."

The second goal in the 53rd minute gave Dortmund enough control to get through the rest of the game, even if Sabah FA vs Borussia Dortmund never turned into a comfortable watch for the away side.

Selection calls added a bit more intrigue

Away wins like this tend to be remembered for the scorer, but Niko Kovac's team selection also stood out. Fábio Silva was in the starting lineup and stayed on for 91 minutes, his third Champions League appearance of the season and his first from the start.

That did not bring a goal contribution, but it was still a notable call. Giving Silva that much time in a difficult away fixture suggests real trust, even if Guirassy remained the man who actually settled the contest.

Carney Chukwuemeka also made his first start of the season on his 23rd birthday, which added another layer to a lineup that had more going on than just the centre-forward spot. Dortmund were not simply rotating for the sake of it here. They were testing options in a match they still had to win.

Six points, but no room for self-congratulation

The table line after three rounds looks decent enough for Dortmund. They are on six points now, and that gives them something solid to build from in the league phase.

Still, the performance itself leaves a more mixed impression than the result. Dortmund got through the trip to Azerbaijan because Guirassy was clinical and relentless in front of goal, not because they swept Sabah aside for 90 minutes.

That is why the bigger takeaway is straightforward. Dortmund have the win, Guirassy has another two-goal night, and the score from Baku stays 2-1.