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The season so far: Borussia Dortmund’s mixed start to the new season raises old questions

By Brian Szlenk Straub

BERLIN, GERMANY - AUGUST 31: Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund looks dejected during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on August 31, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - AUGUST 31: Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund looks dejected during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on August 31, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images) /
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COLOGNE, GERMANY – AUGUST 23: Paco Alcacer of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and Borussia Dortmund at RheinEnergieStadion on August 23, 2019 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/ Getty Images)
COLOGNE, GERMANY – AUGUST 23: Paco Alcacer of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and Borussia Dortmund at RheinEnergieStadion on August 23, 2019 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/ Getty Images) /

Despite the need for tweaks, there are positives aplenty

While last week’s game may have put a damper on Borussia Dortmund’s relatively strong start to the season, there is no reason to panic (yet), and there are plenty of positives we can take from their performances in the last few games.

For one, the attack, when running on all cylinders, can be as fluid and devastating as Dortmund fans could’ve hoped. The constant interchange between the likes of Thorgan Hazard, Marco Reus, Paco Alcacer and Jadon Sancho has been a nightmare for opponents already this season. Paco in particular has been quite impressive, already scoring four goals (and they didn’t come from the bench). The Spanish international is showing that he is far more than a super sub.

Jadon Sancho has also had an overall electric start to the season. The young English international proved to be the difference maker that brought Dortmund past Köln on match-day 2 by scoring the equaliser and then laying off an easy finish in the dying embers of the game for Alcacer to put away. The team, as mentioned earlier, found a way to unlock a deep lying Köln defense and just simply needs to have the energy and creativity to do it more often.

I do also have to note that the return of Mats Hummels has been quite interesting in terms of his ability to play out from the back. Despite what some might say about his decline with regards to speed and being able to keep up with opposition attackers, his defending hasn’t been atrocious, and his ability to pick out a pass from the bar has added a fantastic dimension to Dortmund’s game.

On numerous occasions in every game played so far, Hummels has opened up opposition defenses with a key ball to a teammate, and more often than not these passes have led to opportunities on goal. I certainly look forward to seeing more of this play from Hummels in future games.

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