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Three things we learned from Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Bayern Munich

By Brian Szlenk Straub

DORTMUND, GERMANY - AUGUST 03: Paco Alcacer celebrates his goal to the 1:0 during the DFL Supercup 2019 match at the Signal Iduna Park on August 03, 2019 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY - AUGUST 03: Paco Alcacer celebrates his goal to the 1:0 during the DFL Supercup 2019 match at the Signal Iduna Park on August 03, 2019 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images) /
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03 August 2019, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: Soccer: DFL Supercup, Borussia Dortmund – Bayern Munich in Signal Iduna Park. Bavaria’s Robert Lewandowski (l) against Dortmund’s Manuel Obafemi Akanji (r) and Ömer Toprak. Photo: Marius Becker/dpa
03 August 2019, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: Soccer: DFL Supercup, Borussia Dortmund – Bayern Munich in Signal Iduna Park. Bavaria’s Robert Lewandowski (l) against Dortmund’s Manuel Obafemi Akanji (r) and Ömer Toprak. Photo: Marius Becker/dpa /

Dortmund’s Defense Dominates

One of the biggest issues Borussia Dortmund have faced in recent seasons has been their inconsistent ability to defend, and this has more often than not proven to be an Achilles heel for Die Schwarzgelben, costing them precious points in pursuit of silverware. Against Bayern, Dortmund displayed a resilience at the back that they have sorely lacked, with every component of the back line playing their part to borderline perfection.

Despite not being able to field Mats Hummels in this fixture, the center back partnership of Ömer Toprak and Manuel Akanji faired well against the likes of Robert Lewandoswki and Kingsley Coman. Toprak and Akanji did very well to marshal Lewandowski and keep him quiet, making sure the chances Bayern tried to provide the Polish striker with were stifled before they became a serious threat. Akanji in particular was part of what was quite the battle between himself and the former Dortmund man, on many occasions intercepting passes that were directed towards the Pole. Akanji also played an immense part in keeping Dortmund from conceding in the 57th minute. A very good pass found the head of Kingsley Coman, who attempted to head past Marwin Hitz.

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Hitz stood firm to block Coman’s attempt, but was unable to hold onto the ball. The ball went back into play and found its way to Thomas Müller, who tried to hit it off the rebound. It would be Akanji, or his foot rather, that would get in the way of this second attempt, denying Bayern what should have been a certain goal. Toprak, on his part also made several crucial blocks and exuded a general calm and commanding presence. He will likely still play a more secondary role this season, but he has shown that he could potentially play an important part in the season to come. Marwin Hitz also did himself a world of good in this game as well, and his performance should give Dortmund fans much more confidence regarding his capability to be Roman Bürki’s backup.

Moving on to the defenders out wide, all of Dortmund’s charges in this part of the pitch proved to be well equipped to play important roles in the upcoming season. New signing Nico Schulz stood out with a very strong display at left back. Schulz was active throughout the game, giving Dortmund fans a glimpse of his athleticism and ability to go forward, while also showing that he can seamlessly slot into the back line and play an integral role with regards to defensive duties.

On many occasions, Schulz was able to cut out passes and crosses Bayern’s wingers would attempt to put into the box, and he would then use these moments as opportunities to help start counter attacks and then bomb forward in support, putting in a couple good crosses and passes of his own. Dortmund’s left flank will be interesting to watch this season as Schulz will add both dynamism and experience to their game.

As well as Achraf Hakimi did last season, he sometimes over emphasized his attacking approach, something I see Schulz doing a better job balancing. Hakimi will likely now get to play in his natural position at right back, and he will benefit from the extra defensive work Sancho likes to put in with his displays, which will likely help cover for some of Hakimi’s more exuberant forays forward.

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