Three things we learned from Borussia Dortmund’s pre-season games

Back three is the way to go

Lucien Favre went with a four chain defence for the first six games of pre-season, and it was clear as day that the system does not suit the Borussia Dortmund players. Not having that extra protection at the back cost the Black and Yellows on a number of occasions. And they would have conceded a lot more goals had they played like that against established teams in the Bundesliga.

Dortmund certainly looked a lot better following the switch to the 3-5-2 formation for their game against Sparta Rotterdam. Although they conceded a goal late on, it was a much more assured defensive performance than we saw in the first six games.

Having three defenders not only makes the team defensively solid, it also ensures that the midfielders and wing-backs can take more risks going forward, knowing that there is extra protection at the back in case of turnovers. It also gives the defenders more space and time to play the ball out from the back. And with the majority of Dortmund’s forwards preferring to play through the middle, the 3-5-2/3-4-2-1 formation gives them the freedom to cause opposition defences more problems.

Not to mention that Borussia Dortmund only have three natural defenders, and having Emre Can or Lukasz Piszczek playing as centre backs in a back four would be too risky.