BVB Buzz
Fansided

4 takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s visit to Köln

By Yahya Alikhan

COLOGNE, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 02: The team of Borussia Dortmund celebrate the win after the final whistle during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and Borussia Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion on February 02, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images)
COLOGNE, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 02: The team of Borussia Dortmund celebrate the win after the final whistle during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and Borussia Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion on February 02, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Borussia Dortmund picked up their first win of 2018 in a 3-2 victory against FC Köln. After a poor start to 2018 and a hectic January transfer window, Der BVB is up and running. Debutant Michy Batshuayi scored a brace while a late goal from André Schürrle gave BVB their first victory of 2018.

A new bat in town:

Aubameyang who? Michy Batshuayi kicked off his Borussia Dortmund career with a stunning performance against Köln. The ex-Chelsea man racked up two goals and an assist in a game that shows why he is a perfect replacement for Aubameyang. Stöger had stated that Batshuayi was a perfect replacement for the Gabonese international and boy was he right.

He would have bagged a hat-trick but his tap-in in the 44th minute he was just inches offside and the VAR had overruled his goal. Unfortunately, Batshuayi played a part in Köln’s opener as a miscommunication between him and Pulisic launched an immediate counter leading to Köln equalising. But he made amends just 60 seconds later when he slotted the ball past Timo Horn for his second of the night.

COLOGNE, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 02: Michy Batshuayi of Dortmund celebrates after scoring his team`s first goal during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and Borussia Dortmund at RheinEnergieStadion on February 2, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images)
COLOGNE, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 02: Michy Batshuayi of Dortmund celebrates after scoring his team`s first goal during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and Borussia Dortmund at RheinEnergieStadion on February 2, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images) /

Finally, the Belgian assisted the winner when he fed the ball to Schürrle who gave Dortmund the victory. Batshuayi fit perfectly with Dortmund’s style of play and was constantly coming back as well to regain possession, something which we didn’t see Aubameyang do much. Let’s see what he has to offer for the rest of the season.

Blunderous Bürki:

Roman Bürki once again didn’t have the best of games. Köln’s opener came from a huge error by the Swiss international. After Bürki failed to parry the ball away from danger, Zoller easily headed the ball into the back of the net. It wasn’t the first time he has made a crucial error. In the previous match against Freiburg, Bürki was caught off his line and let in a goal from 40 yards out.

He did, however, make an outstanding save to deny ex-Dortmund man Miloš Jojić in the 13th minute. Dortmund needs him to be rock-solid at the back as they are currently recovering from a defence crisis that Stöger is desperately trying to sort out. All in all, if Dortmund is to progress further, they need the assurance that their goalkeeper will not fail them in these sort of situations.

Solid Individual performances:

There have been times throughout the season where certain players just haven’t seemed to play to their ability. In this game, however, almost everybody on the pitch put in 110%. André Schürrle who hasn’t really kicked off his career at Dortmund, had a lovely game today. Constantly after the ball, making good runs, and looking for space. His efforts rewarded him with his first goal of the Bundesliga campaign.

Jeremy Toljan also had a magnificent game. After being below par in the beginning of the season Toljan has really turned it up a notch. A goal and two assists in two games make him a huge threat upfront. His blistering pace and technique enable for great wing play along with his ability to use his weaker foot. While Marcel Schmelzer struggling with injury Toljan is a viable replacement.

And finally, Julian Weigl played a crucial role in the midfield for Dortmund today. Always creating space and finding players to create opportunities. Weigl has attracted clubs like Real Madrid and with performances like today and BVB should expect a few clubs to come knocking.

Manuel Akanji debut:

Youngster Manuel Akanji has made his first appearance for the club. The Swiss international joined Dortmund from Basel and was subbed on in the 87th minute replacing the goalscorer André Schürrle.

Home/Borussia Dortmund News