Borussia Dortmund struggled for a long time against Villarreal CF. But in the decisive moments, BVB suddenly stepped up and ultimately won convincingly, 4-0 (1-0).

There was a time when Borussia Dortmund would have come up short against Spanish teams in one key area: sheer determination. When things got scrappy, tough, and uncomfortable on the field, the BVB players would sometimes back down.

On Tuesday evening, however, Dortmund was a cut above Villarreal in precisely this regard. BVB won 4–0 (1–0) on goals by Serhou Guirassy (45’+2, 54’—handball penalty), Karim Adeyemi (58’), and Daniel Svensson (90’).

A result that actually sounded like a soccer spectacle. The match on the fifth matchday of the Champions League, however, had little to do with that. In the decisive moments, though, Dortmund forced their luck—and, with a numerical advantage, managed to turn the tide ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga away game at Bayer Leverkusen (6:30 p.m./Sky).

The match hadn’t even kicked off yet when Mats Hummels first touched on one of the wounds currently gaping at BVB. “It’s a solid team that gets the basics right on the field,” said the Dortmund defensive legend in his new role as a TV analyst for Prime. The 36-year-old then added, however: “But they’re lacking those big moments of brilliance.” If Hummels had needed further evidence for this not-so-far-fetched theory, he could have presented a whole dossier by halftime at the latest.

Twice, Hummels’ successors Waldemar Anton (22’) and Nico Schlotterbeck (36’) made superb sliding tackles in moments of dire need, thus preventing two Spanish counterattacks that could have led to goals. Those were the two highlights from Dortmund’s perspective—and that said a lot about the lackluster black-and-yellow performance. Although BVB played twice as many passes as their opponents from the Spanish Mediterranean coast, they yielded no results. Long balls to left back Daniel Svensson were the most effective tactic. Villarreal, on the other hand—third in the Spanish league standings—became more active. The best chance: Pape Gueye’s shot from the penalty area, which whizzed just over the bar following a free-kick trick (31st minute).

But what neither Hummels nor any of the 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Dortmund stadium could explain was the halftime score: 1–0 for BVB. A corner kick by Daniel Svensson broke the creative deadlock in stoppage time. Waldemar Anton played the ball to Aaron Anselmino, who was a surprise starter in place of Emre Can. Anselmino then passed it on to Serhou Guirassy, and the striker headed it in from a meter in front of the goal line. Dortmund had a brief moment of anxiety as a suspected handball by Anton was reviewed. But the goal stood.

BVB: VAR Takes Center Stage Twice

The video referee was also in the spotlight immediately after halftime—again with a positive outcome for BVB. Here’s what happened: Dortmund launched a counterattack, and Felix Nmecha blocked a shot from a Spanish player. On his second attempt—with goalkeeper Luiz Jr. already beaten—Karim Adeyemi missed the empty net and struck the outstretched arm of captain Juan Foyth instead. Handball penalty! Davide Massa double-checked the TV screen and stood by his decision, though he increased the penalty: a red card instead of a yellow for Foyth.

Guirassy took over the duties in Can’s absence. However, he didn’t handle the task with confidence. On his first attempt, he was denied by Luiz Jr. with a poorly placed, weak shot, but he slotted home the rebound (54′). A lucky goal. So was the third goal shortly afterward, when Thomas Partey struck Adeyemi and the ball flew into the net off his shin (58′). Their nerves faltered only once, when substitute Fabio Silva blasted a penalty kick off the crossbar (82′).

Svensson put the finishing touch on the match with the 4–0 goal in stoppage time. Dortmund had nevertheless caught the Spaniards completely off guard on this November evening—and took a big step toward the knockout round.