Wolfsburg 0-2 Borussia Dortmund: Key talking points from Bundesliga win

Dahoud and Delaney – The unlikely midfield duo continues to pay dividends

Prior to the winter break, Mahmoud Dahoud was a fringe player at Borussia Dortmund, hardly getting any minutes the pitch. Thomas Delaney has been unlucky with injuries, first picking up a knock against Union Berlin early in the season and then suffering an ankle ligament injury on international duty that has kept him out for much of the season.

Upon his return, the signing of Emre Can had many thinking the Danish international was on his way out. Now both of them are playing at the heart of Dortmund’s midfield and doing a great job at that.

Dahoud’s and Delaney’s fortunes took a turn with injuries and muscular problems keeping the likes of Emre Can and Axel Witsel out of action since the season’s resumption, and it has to be said that they’ve taken their chance and run with it to great effect.

In Dahoud, Dortmund have re-discovered a midfieleder full of energy and positive attacking play. His passing and composure has made him almost unrecognisable to the player fans saw before the break.

The player that has impressed me even more however is Delaney. Last season, Delaney started most of the games for Dortmund and brought a warrior like presence the club had lacked since Sven Bender left the club. Delaney brought a fight back to the Dortmund midfield that it had desperately needed, and came very close to winning his first title with the team as Dortmund finished just behind Bayern.

This season however, he has seen limited minutes due to both the aforementioned injuries and new signings. That being said however, he has slotted back into this team as if there were no break in his play. Delaney has been full of the energy and grit that endeared him to many last season. Delaney did his best to be a constant thorn in the side of Wout Weghorst, getting into tussles with player and cutting out passes meant for Wolfsburg’s main frontman.

His passing seems to have improved immensely as well, as exhibited by his very nice switch to Hakimi in the 14th minute, which found the Moroccan international in acres of space. Despite this particular play coming to nothing, it was still a very artistic ball out to the player. Delaney also had a very good tackle against Wolfsburg defender Jérôme Roussillon, stopping his progress up there flank crisply.

All in all, this midfield pairing has been a pleasant surprise, but more importantly it has highlighted Dortmund’s depth this season. This run of games may play a role in Lucien Favre re-integrating these two players in the long run to play a larger role in the squad.