Borussia Dortmund climbed to the summit of the Bundesliga table with a composed 2-0 victory over Heidenheim at the Voith-Arena on Saturday, thanks to goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier.
Niko Kovač made four changes to his lineup from the pre-international break win over Union Berlin, handing starts to Julian Ryerson, Pascal Groß, Felix Nmecha and Karim Adeyemi.
The visitors showed attacking intent early on, with Adeyemi bursting through only to be thwarted by goalkeeper Diant Ramaj, on loan from Dortmund.
Heidenheim’s resistance crumbled midway through the first half when Budu Zivzivadze was dismissed for a reckless studs-up challenge on Nmecha.
Dortmund wasted little time capitalizing on the man advantage, as Guirassy headed home Ryerson’s pinpoint delivery from deep just 11 minutes later.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Dortmund doubled their lead. Adeyemi breezed past Benedikt Gimber before selflessly squaring to Beier, who calmly slotted home to make it 2-0 at the break.
The second half saw Dortmund dictate the tempo without needing to overexert themselves. Guirassy forced Ramaj into another smart save on the hour mark after being played through by Jobe Bellingham, while substitute Carney Chukwuemeka fired narrowly over late on.
The visitors ultimately saw out the game with comfortable possession play, rarely looking troubled.
Though not a dazzling performance, Dortmund left Heidenheim with maximum points from a traditionally tricky venue.
Goals from Guirassy and Beier proved enough to send die Schwarzgelben back north as league leaders ahead of Bayern Munich’s evening kickoff.