Borussia Dortmund steadied themselves in the Champions League with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sabah FK in Baku, Serhou Guirassy scoring twice to end a run of three games without victory. The result puts the club on six points from three group-stage matches, keeping pace with the competition's upper tier. It was a needed boost, but the performance was far from convincing, with Dortmund conceding an equaliser and struggling to control a limited opponent for long stretches.

The win came at a cost in terms of squad depth. Konstantinos Karetsas, one of the club's brightest attacking talents, is sidelined with a ankle ligament injury suffered in the 0-0 draw at Union Berlin the previous weekend. The 18-year-old will miss the upcoming Bundesliga home match against Eintracht Frankfurt as well as the Baku trip, with his situation to be reassessed after the Frankfurt game. His absence leaves a clear gap in Kovac's attacking options.

Ethan Nwaneri, the Arsenal loanee brought in partly to cover for the earlier injury to Giannis Konstantelias, continues to show promise without delivering the decisive moments the club needs. Director Lars Ricken has spoken publicly about Nwaneri lacking a confidence-boosting breakthrough goal, while analysis points to structural issues in Dortmund's attack under Kovac as a broader concern. With Eintracht Frankfurt visiting Signal Iduna Park on Saturday and a Bundesliga clash against Bayern Munich to follow, the pressure on the squad to find consistency is only growing.