Borussia Dortmund finally ended its winless streak in the Bundesliga by beating Mainz 2-0 in Peter Stoeger’s first game in charge on Tuesday.
Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos broke the deadlock in the 55th minute and Shinji Kagawa sealed it in the 89th after Dortmund missed a host of chances to do so.
It was Dortmund’s first league win at the ninth attempt since September, and only its second in 14 games across all competitions.
The side’s slump led to the sacking of Peter Bosz on Sunday, when Stoeger took over.
Stoeger was sacked by Cologne the week before after his side failed to win in 14 Bundesliga games, but the Austrian coach is respected for leading Cologne to Bundesliga promotion in 2014 and overseeing steady progress in each of the following seasons - up to this one.
“I admit, after a long time in red and white, the new color (yellow and black) is a bit unusual. I don’t need the black for my figure, but it suits me quite well,” said Stoeger, who oversaw his first Bundesliga win of the season.
“It’s been a while,” he added.
Suat Serdar rattled the crossbar early on for the home side, and blazed over minutes later, then Abdou Diallo was next to head over.
The home side was aggressive, first to every ball, winning challenges, and Dortmund struggled to create any attacking opportunities.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have scored toward the end of the half after a simple ball over the top, but the Gabon striker fired wide when he had only the goalkeeper to beat.
Ten defenders made it hard for Dortmund to break through in the second half, but a foul on Christian Pulisic provided the opportunity. Omer Toprak deflected Kagawa’s free kick onto the post and Sokratis hammered in the rebound.
Dortmund wasted numerous good chances as Mainz tired, but Aubameyang finally set up Kagawa to seal it.
“Part of this victory belongs to Peter Bosz. I wish him all the best,” Stoeger said.
