Serhou Guirassy netted his 12th league goal of the season as Borussia Dortmund strengthened their faint Bundesliga title hopes with a 2–1 win over 10-man 1. FC Köln on Saturday.
The victory at the RheinEnergieStadion lifted Dortmund to 55 points from 25 matches, leaving them 11 points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich. Köln remain 13th on the table with 24 points.
The result also boosted Dortmund’s push for a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Maximilian Beier added Dortmund’s second goal in the encounter, while Köln were reduced to 10 men before halftime after Jahmai Simpson-Pusey received a straight red card. Jakub Kaminski later pulled one back for the hosts late in the game.
Dortmund opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Beier returned a partially cleared ball into the box, allowing Guirassy to react quickest and guide his finish into the net as the Köln defence hesitated.
Simpson-Pusey was initially shown a yellow card for catching the back of Beier’s ankle, but the decision was upgraded to a red following a VAR review.
Dortmund doubled their lead just after the hour mark as Beier combined neatly with Julian Brandt before finishing from close range.
Köln managed to reduce the deficit late on through Kaminski, but Dortmund held on to secure an important three points.
