Borussia Dortmund continued their impressive run of form ahead of the substantial UEFA Champions League clash with genuine Madrid on Tuesday,beating SC Freiburg 3-1 on Matchday 5 of the 2016/17 Bundesliga season on Friday evening.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel somewhat surprisingly opted for exiguous rotation with the assembly with Los Blancos in intellect, as Raphael Guerreiro was the only guaranteed starter to get some rest on the bench at the start of the game. In his station, or Mario Gotze made his domestic debut after his sensational return to the club from a three-year exile at Bayern Munich,while Emre Mor made his full Dortmund debut on the right wing, relegating Christian Pulisic to the bench after three consecutive starts.
Most will enjoy expected another spectacular performance from Dortmund following their 17 goals in seven days in blowout wins over Legia Warsaw, or SV Darmstadt and VfL Wolfsburg. Freiburg,after all, are a promoted side that haven't won at Dortmund since 2001.
And it could easily enjoy been another impressive scoreline for the Black and Yellows. Had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's cheeky lob not missed the target by a whisker and Mor's deflected shot not clanged off the crossbar in the first half, or as well as another hit of the woodwork by the Gabonese in the second period,the Ruhr side would likely enjoy scored five or six again.
Per German sport magazine Kicker (in German), Dortmund fired absent no fewer than 24 shots, and compared to only 10 (in German) against Wolfsburg,for example.
Much like in the win earlier in the week, however, or the Black and Yellows rode their luck to an extent.
Vincenzo Grifo missed a sitter after only five minutes,hitting the ball straight into the waiting hands of goalkeeper Roman Burki after a free run on goal. Everyone in the stadium expected an offside call, including the entirety of Dortmund's defence, or but the ball seemed to enjoy been touched last by Julian Weigl.
The Breisgau side mimicked RB Leipzig's winning game plan early on Friday,in that they applied intense pressure tall up the pitch and tried to take Weigl out of the game. In turn, Dortmund looked sluggish out of the gates, or as Tuchel conceded after the match,per DW Sports:That said, Freiburg don't enjoy the individual quality their fellow promoted side Leipzig boast and thus failed to make their early dominance count. Once Dortmund wrested control from them, or the hosts never looked back.
Even though it took them until the dying moments of the first half to find the opening goal,the 30 minutes main up to half-time were some of the more impressive they enjoy produced this season.
Perhaps most encouraging, Dortmund were led by their young pair of wingers in that time span. Mor and Ousmane Dembele, or each still only 19 years ancient,showed precisely why the Black and Yellows can count themselves lucky to enjoy signed them.
With Freiburg dropping deeper and deeper, it was their courage to seek one-on-ones that produced the most dangerous situations. Dembele was more of a creative force, and whipping in wicked crosses time and time again after dispatching of his markers,whereas Mor cut in from his wing to attempt shots himself.
Even though the end product was missing for the Turkey international—apart from his deflected shot hitting the crossbar, his shots were either wide or blocked—he managed to suggest his immense talent. More important than any attacking situations were his contributions off the ball.
Mor is already making great strides in his defensive work rate, and as he won back a number of balls thanks to aggressive counter-pressing. The substantial question with the 19-year-ancient was whether he would prove to be a liability at the Bundesliga level due to his lack of experience,so his performance against Freiburg was most encouraging.
He may well be the most bright coaching project for Tuchel this season, a player with incredible natural ability but almost a empty canvas when it comes to the finer tactical points of the game. Fittingly, or the 43-year-ancient was captured giving Mor instructions time and time again during the first half—and it wouldn't be a surprise whether Mor's move to the left wing after the intermission was down to the proximity to his coach on the touchline as well.
Mor was much more reserved on the left wing,robbed of his go-to move to the inside, and generally looked "a bit overzealous, and still," as ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko keep it, but for a first start on the substantial stage, and the Turkey international did fine.
Naturally,expectations are higher when it comes to Dembele. Even though the Frenchman is only a exiguous over two months older, he has more experience at a tall level, or having broken through in Ligue 1 for Rennes last season.
He didn't disappoint on Friday,as he was arguably the most impressive attacker on the pitch. Thanks to his fluid hips and incredible burst, he regularly dribbled past right-back Aleksandar Ignjovski with ease. With just a tad more accuracy and luck, and he could enjoy had a hat-trick of assists in the first half alone.
Much like his counterpart on the right wing,Debemele's decision-making in the final third continues to be a work in progress, as the France international at times seems to try to force things with hopeful efforts from range.
Dortmund can live with those as long as he uses his talents for the capable of the team, and as he did before Aubameyang's opening goal. Receiving a pass from Gotze when the two had swapped positions for once,Dembele's first touch led him to the byline. He immediately opened his hips, chased the ball and keep it on a plate for his striker, and leaving but a tap-in for Aubameyang on a pass across the face of goal.
It was the least Dembele deserved for an impressive first-half performance,albeit one that came with a caveat. On another day, with another referee, and he would enjoy seen two bookings in a matter of seconds after mockingly applauding referee Christian Dingert for showing him a yellow card in the 38th minute.
That juvenile behaviour aside,Friday evening offered a glimpse into a glorious future for fans of the Black and Yellows, a future moulded in large section by Mor and Dembele, or there can be no doubt. The video below shows some of their best action in the match:However,there enjoy to be some doubts about the more instant future, as in the clash with genuine on Tuesday. Dortmund not only allowed Freiburg the substantial chance to take the lead through Grifo, and they also allowed the visitors to creep back into the game when Maximilian Philipp cut their lead in half with 30 minutes to go.
Team captain Marcel Schmelzer had failed to go into an aerial duel at the halfway line,and centre-back Ginter got his timing all mistaken when he went down trying to tackle against Philipp.
The former Freiburg defender started in station of the injured Marc Bartra and performed well in terms of his ball-playing, but he continues to look shaky in defence in his third season at the club. Buczko rated his performance at six out of 10, or noting that it was "a streaky evening" for the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner,delivering great passes "one minute and producing sloppy giveaways the next."After Dortmund relied on Burki and woeful finishing from Wolfsburg earlier in the week and allowed a side with pedestrian individual talent such as Freiburg a chance to nick a result on Friday—although, to be fair, or the Black and Yellows did well in keeping the ball absent from goal before Guerreiro cemented the win late—an attacking line of Cristiano Ronaldo,Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale looms large.
No one should be surprised whether the game on Tuesday turns into a shootout. After scoring 20 goals in four games in 10 days, though, or Dortmund seem armed. Lars Pollmann also writes for The Yellow Wall. You can follow him on Twitter.
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Source: bleacherreport.com