Dortmund are starting to look like the amazing team everyone knows they can be
Borussia Dortmund. Talented young players. A striker who can’t stop scoring. Every single fan of the Bundesliga knows how that story ends. Lucien Favre’s men have been breathing fire and are yet to lose in the league this season. And as their recent victory over Bayern Munich in the Der Klassiker suggests, BVB may be the at the top of the league for a while.
Dortmund have had their fair share of failed title challenges since they last won the league under Klopp, most recently under Thomas Tuchel, when they were looking set to win it during the winter break only to collapse to yet another Bayern comeback.
So, while it is hard to label them as favourites to win the league, especially as Bayern are beginning to find their feet under Niko Kovac and Dieter Hecking’s Gladbach looking good, something about this crop of BVB players feels different.
It's the frontline, in particular, that looks to be rejuvenated again after the loss of Michy Batshuayi, who didn't return after his heroics in the second half of last season. Paco Alcacer has come in and grabbed at his chance while after all the injuries, Marco Reus finally looks like he’s at a 100% again.
Playing in the hole behind the striker, Reus is looking deadly again every time he’s on the ball and this should be a sight that Dortmund fans should relish.
But the talk of this Dortmund team early in the season has been Jadon Sancho. The Englishman looks dangerous every single time he gets the ball and has been a matchup nightmare for fullbacks all across the league. Blessed with an amazing change of pace, the former Manchester City youth product has been lethal every time he has stepped onto the pitch.
With four goals and six assists in his first 11 games for the club, Sancho looks like a bargain for Dortmund. Sancho has also been more than threatening winger, with his underrated footballing IQ often setting up chances for teammates or for himself. Trickery, pace and an underrated IQ mean Sancho will surely star for many years to come.
The 19-year-old has been so good that he’s taken the pressure of yet another wonder talent to produce as he goes through a mini-slump of his own. Dortmund’s American wunderkid Christian Pulisic has been touted as one of the best young players in the world. The American is going through something of a dip in form right now with poor outings home and away against Atletico in the Champions League.
He seems to have lost his place in the BVB starting XI based on current form, with his last start in the Bundesliga being against Leverkusen more than a month ago. Much has been expected of Pulisic and while not being in the best of forms, he still provides an interesting option off the bench for Lucien Favre every game.
The player that has taken Pulisic’s place, Jacob Brunn Larsen, has been another revelation, albeit to a smaller extent. The Dortmund academy product showed some promise on loan at Stuttgart during the second half of last season but has been the perfect foil from the left wing for BVB in the league this season.
Dortmund have also supplemented this amazing attacking talent with depth at almost every position, a strong midfield base and coach that always seems to know what to do to get the best out of his players.
A star during their previous title win, Mario Gotze has had to come off the bench this season while Portuguese international Raphael Guerreiro provides a different and somewhat defensive alternative on the wings.
Even in midfield, promising young midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud, pass-master Julian Weigl , the physical Axel Witsel and the battle-hardened Thomas Delaney are an interesting quartet to choose from, with each of them having specific qualities that should give BVB the variety they need against almost every opposition.
And while it is true that Dortmund have conceded a lot of goals this season and cannot keep coming back to win games, their defence is one that is young and full of promising stars. Manuel Akanji had been outstanding for Basel before coming to Germany and should develop soon while Dan Axel Zagadou is also starting to find his feet after making the step up from the Dortmund second team.
And while injury to big money signing Abdou Diallo didn’t help, BVB should figure things out soon rather than later in the middle of the park. And with promising fullbacks in Achraf Hakimi and Jeremy Toljan, they have the talent to ensure that they tighten up that back line.
In Lucien Favre, Dortmund have found a coach that can coax the best out every player in the squad, just as Nice, and someone who has extensive experience in the Bundesliga from his time at Borussia Monchengladbach.
He has guided his team to the top of the league while facing an interesting set of fixtures that should get more challenging as the season goes on. But this Dortmund team, much unlike its previous iterations, looks capable of holding on and fighting through the rough stretches of the season. And while it may be too soon to say yet, this Borussia Dortmund team is starting to look like the real deal.