Hertha Berlin came away with a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Dresden at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion on Saturday evening. The result came in the sixth round of the 2. Bundesliga, with the visitors extending their perfect start to the campaign. Dresden had opened the scoring early, but Hertha turned the game around after the break.
Patrice Čović gave the home side a shock lead in the tenth minute. It was a moment that caught the away side flat-footed, and Dresden looked dangerous in the opening exchanges. Hertha had nothing to do all evening until the visitors finally found their rhythm.
Jón Dagur Þórsteinsson levelled things up in the twenty-ninth minute. By then, the game had settled into a pattern of yellow cards — Robert Wagner, Mads Valentin Pedersen, Ahmet Muhamedbegovic and Josip Brekalo all went to the referee. The stadium fell silent around the half-hour mark as Hertha began to string passes together.
The second half brought controversy and then a decisive moment. Oluwaseun Adewumi thought he had restored the lead in the fifty-seventh minute, but the goal was cancelled out by VAR. Hertha held their nerve, and Þórsteinsson worked a short corner in the eightieth minute to fire home the winner. He was replaced shortly after, having done enough to secure the three points.
The statistics told a story Dresden could not quite live with. They enjoyed 49 per cent possession and launched 111 attacks, but only created one big chance against Hertha's three. Expected goals told the real story — 0.83 for Dresden against 2.58 for the visitors. Hertha shot with better accuracy, converting 35 per cent of their shots on target.
The result leaves Hertha at the top of the table with eighteen points from six wins. Dynamo Dresden sit seventeenth with just four points, one win and a draw from their opening six fixtures. It was a match decided by three or four moments, not the statistics that followed.