Borussia Dortmund claimed their second 1-0 win of the week, a battered Mainz O5 side down the two players had to be suspended due to an outbreak of Covid-19. Dortmund had a lot of staff problems to contend with, with the provisional backlash rolling up their sleeves once again to pursue league leader Bayern Munich. With 87 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, BVB needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn’t succeed. to bring. It was, frankly, a fantastic goal for the veteran, who will really be missed when he leaves the team this summer, and has given Dortmund something to play for until the end of the season.
Another disjointed performance
Dortmund were terrible in the first half (and for the most part of the second half). It’s hard to sugar coat. The team showed very little tactical awareness, Mainz consistently found opportunities to fight in the middle, especially when taking off misplaced passes. At the other end of the field, the attackers left and right lost the ball, despite Malen’s best efforts to run straight into the defense. I’m curious as to what Marco Rose’s tactical plan was the last two games in attack, as it seems as if Malen is trying to play the match he played against Gladbach and no one is going with him. Since Dortmund won that match 6-0, I tend to stand by Malen on this side. It is understandable that the team on the field may not be able to fully implement Rose’s game plan, but the man Dortmund looks shy for goals in this setup. Still …
We have clean leaves
Two games, two clean sheets, and if you had asked the Dortmund defense to ensure that in November, you would have gone crazy. Sure, this is not a Simeone side, but to expect a 1-0 game from Dortmund is typically a fantasy. Nevertheless, this patchwork page managed to not only collect six points, but to do so with zero conceding goals. Along with those clean sheets came two very encouraging performances by Emre Can, who had his indifferent season in black and yellow. A direct hit when he arrived, the German struggled to consistently play football for the blacks and yellows and suffered the irritation of the fans as a result. I loved Can all the way back to his Liverpool days and I still think he can be a asset to the team. Hopefully he can use these players as a starting point to prove in the remaining games that he is the player that Dortmund thought he would sign.
Why did Dortmund win these two games exactly?
The last two game days have felt a bit like a dream come true. After the relegation of the Europa League and points dropped at Augsburg, Dortmund were hit with a covid outburst to add another layer of misery. Nevertheless, the players won two games. How?
The realization, under the Board of Directors of Borussia Dortmund, stated that changes are needed if the high standards are met. More pace, more character, less comfort, many professionals seem too fragile to meet the demands of a top club.
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– BVB Newsblog (@bvbnewsblog) March 15, 2022
Dortmund have acknowledged that some of the ‘best’s of the squad do not have the winning mentality that the team needs. This week, most of those guys are on the injury table or in quarantine (I’m not starting to name names). The boys on the field stood on the bench, some of them loyal to the club DNA or waiting for a new chance to show their worth. What some of these guys are on the hunt for is a contract extension and the knife will be sharpened for the summer. Sometimes it does not need the best players, but the players who want it the most, and Dortmund’s reserves have proved in those two games that it’s not just about transfer rumors and great footwork; sometimes you just have to stick around.
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