Borussia Dortmund: What we learned from 1-0 win over Freiburg

Borussia Dortmund beat Freiburg 1-0 for their third league win in a row. Jadon Sancho scored the lone goal of the match, after some brilliant line up between Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt.

Here are some of the big takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s heart fought win over Freiburg, both good and bad.

The absence of Reus is still being felt

Despite winning four in a row without its captain, Borussia Dortmund still look a different side without Marco Reus in the lineup. This is especially seen on the counter attack, where Reus’ ability to create space for others with his offball movement and his one-touch link up play has not been replicated by anyone on the squad.

Julian Brandt is the closest fit to this role, but with Brandt playing deeper than Reus would, he is not always in the same spots when Dortmund are on the counter attack.

With Reus in the attack it always seems like everyone is on the same page, and without him the attacks get stagnant from time to time with the wrong decision being made at the end, which was often the case against Freiburg. The case was usually that Jadon Sancho would lead the counter and draw in the defenders, a position where Reus will often overlap the English winger and then cut the ball back to him in open space.

With the absence of those plays, the counters often led to a cross that was dealt with by the Freiburg defence or an overly ambitious shot at goal, when Sancho was often open for the return pass. The lack of clinical play made for an uneasy finish in a game that Dortmund could have lead by two or three.

Reus has made the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain his ideal return date, and his presence will be important for Dortmund to close out the round of 16 tie. Dortmund may have won the first leg without him, but Reus should play an instrumental role in them going into Paris and grinding out a result.

Dortmund will likely find themselves on the backfoot for a majority of that game, so having Reus to run the counterattacks, as well as having his leadership in a hostile environment, is big for the side.