Sabah 1-2 Dortmund: Guirassy double ends BVB's winless run in Baku

Serhou Guirassy scored twice as Borussia Dortmund beat Sabah 2-1 at the Baku Olympic Stadium on Tuesday, ending a three-game winless run with a Champions League league-phase victory. Aden McCarthy headed the Azerbaijani champions level before half-time, but Guirassy volleyed the winner eight minutes after the restart.

Match facts

• Result: Sabah 1-2 Borussia Dortmund (half-time 1-1)
• Competition: UEFA Champions League, League Phase, Matchday 3
• Venue: Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku
• Scorers: Sabah - McCarthy 39'; Borussia Dortmund - Guirassy 10', 53'
• Assists: Sabah - Puchacz (39'); Borussia Dortmund - Veerman (53')
• Red cards: None
• Next: Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga), Saturday 24 October; Borussia Dortmund v Real Betis and Viking v Sabah (Champions League), Wednesday 4 November

How the match unfolded

Dortmund started quickly in the early 17:45 UK kick-off. Sabah captain Stas Pokatilov saved twice from Fábio Silva inside the first six minutes, and Guirassy sent two efforts off target before the breakthrough in the 10th minute. Fábio Silva and Carney Chukwuemeka combined down the right, Pokatilov could only parry Felix Nmecha's shot from the centre of the box, and Guirassy reacted first to finish with his left foot.

Sabah grew into the game. Steve Solvet was booked for a foul on Nmecha in the 22nd minute, and two minutes later Pokatilov saved a long-range shot from Joey Veerman. On the half-hour Joy-Lance Mickels ran onto Kaheem Parris's pass and beat Gregor Kobel, but he had been flagged offside.

The equaliser came from a set piece in the 39th minute. Daniel Svensson fouled Akim Zedadka on the right, Tymoteusz Puchacz swung in the free-kick and centre-back McCarthy won the aerial duel at the far post to head in from close range. Kobel then had to save from Veljko Simić and Parris before the break.

Dortmund went back in front in the 53rd minute. Veerman crossed from the right and Guirassy, arriving at the far post, volleyed in under the bar with his left foot from the edge of the six-yard box. Three minutes later Pokatilov needed a diving save to stop another Guirassy shot from distance.

Sabah coach Valdas Dambrauskas sent on Orphé Mbina and Aleksey Isayev after 65 minutes, while Niko Kovač brought on Jobe Bellingham, Marcel Sabitzer and Joane Gadou soon after the 70-minute mark and Maximilian Beier in the 77th. Fábio Silva shot wide when played through in the 73rd minute, Mbina went close twice for the hosts and Solvet headed wide from another Puchacz delivery, but Dortmund saw out two minutes of stoppage time.

What it means

Dortmund arrived in Baku without a win in three games and without a goal in two, after a 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen, a 1-0 defeat at Bodø/Glimt and a goalless draw at Union Berlin. Kovač had called his side clear favourites before the game, and they finished with 22 shots to Sabah's 13, nine of them on target. The win takes Dortmund to six points from three games, following the opening 3-2 home win over Villarreal in which Guirassy also scored twice.

Sabah stay on three points. Founded in 2017 and Azerbaijani champions for the first time in 2026, the club moved this tie from their home town of Masazır to the Baku Olympic Stadium, where they beat Slavia Prague 2-0 a week earlier after a 4-0 defeat at Manchester United on Matchday 1.

What's next

Dortmund host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday before visiting Bayern Munich on 31 October. In the Champions League they welcome Real Betis on Wednesday 4 November (20:00 UK), when Sabah travel to Norway to face Viking.

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