Augsburg 3-5 Borussia Dortmund: Key talking points from the game
Haaland hat trick inspires Dortmund comeback
When an attacking player makes his debut for a new club, the dream is always to open your scoring account and be an instant impact for your team. To say that Erling Haaland made an instant impact would be an understatement.
The Norwegian striker came to Dortmund from RB Salzburg with a massive reputation for a 19 year old, and a host of clubs chasing his signature, and the world got a very good glimpse of why that was the case in this very game. Haaland’s debut hat trick was the basis upon which Dortmund were able to turn the game on its head and leave the WWK Arena with an integral 3 points to their title bid.
Haaland’s opened his account very quickly after coming on in the 56th minute. It took the striker exactly 3 minutes to find the back of the net for his new club. A wonderful little through ball behind by Sancho allowed Haaland to make an exceptional run and slot cooly past the Augsburg keeper. This would bring the score to 3-2 in Augsburg’s favor.
The Haaland goal-fest would continue as the clock ticked on. Sancho would bring parity to the scoreline minutes later following a long ball from Mats Hummels. In the 69th minute another ball over the top, this time by Axel Witsel to Thorgan Hazard, found the Belgian and his Norwegian teammate in a plethora of space.
Hazard could have shot himself, but unselfishly gave the ball to Haaland to finish off for a debut brace. The goal was initially ruled offside but re-instated after VAR had its say. Haaland would cap off his hat-trick and Dortmund’s emphatic comeback in the 78th minute. A neat ball from fellow debutant Gio Reyna found club captain Reus, who played a ball through Augsburg’s defense for Haaland to run on to.
Haaland made no mistake and finished the chance off in the bottom left corner. Haaland’s debut hat trick mirrors the start to life in the Bundesliga that former Dortmund frontman Pierre Emerick Aubameyang had, and against the same team no less. We can hope that he can not only reach Aubameyang’s heights for the club but go even higher and be even more critical to the team going forward.
Aside from the goals, what struck me the most about Haaland’s introduction onto the pitch was the general change in both body language and play style of the entire team as soon as they had a natural striker leading the line. The whole squad seemed to take a breath, and relax more. There was less pressure on the wingers to push all the way forward which allowed them to fall back into their natural positions and do what they do best: take on the opposition and create.
Knowing they had a real goal threat ahead of them allowed them to be more expressive and engaged in build up rather than aiming to go for goal. You could see defensive improvements as well, with the likes of Hakimi having to do less to cover for the players pushing so much further forward. Haaland’s introduction has surely been a breath of fresh air and the fans alike.