Dortmund entered the game without injured top scorer Erling Haaland, and also missing Raphael Guerreiro, Gio Reyna, Thomas Meunier, and Mo Dahoud. Bielefeld perhaps sensed the possibility of a surprise result and started well, defended compactly, and tackled challenges aggressively. The approach brought the first two best starts of the game, first for Alexander Hack, whose shot was well blocked in the corner by Gregor Kobel before Anni Serra stole the ball from Marin Pongracic and took a shot at goal, only Kobel served him better. the ball.
Encouraged by the performance in the first half, Bielefeld again tried to put pressure on Dortmund and looked for a way to get back into the game. Experienced forward Fabian Klos put Marwin Hitz, who had replaced Kobel in Dortmund's goal, to the test, while Bundesliga rookie and substitute Guilherme Ramos came close to scoring moments after entering the field but headed in after a corner kick.