Schalke 0-4 Borussia Dortmund: Talking points from dominant Revierderby win
Haaland & Sancho impress as attack continues to find rhythm
Clinical attacking used to be commonplace when watching Die Schwarzgelben ply their trade in the Bundesliga, but their recent run of matches have shown an immense dip in their ability to put away dangerous chances.
Even the likes of Erling Haaland seemed invisible at times, with the striker either not getting the service he needs or not taking clear cut chances when presented to him. He was not alone in his dip in form, however, as Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus, Gio Reyna and Julian Brandt also experienced periods of inconsistency. The attacking line lacked rhythm, with mis-placed passes ruining opportunities that in the past would have been buried with ease.
Something must have changed since the mid-week game against Sevilla and now in the derby. Dortmund’s attack has looked much sharper and more clinical in front of goal. It may have taken a while in the first half, with the first 40 minutes or so still rife with chances that went begging, but eventually, as the chances became more plentiful, so did the goals.
Sancho’s strike for the opener will count as his fifth for the season in the league, and is a testament to how much his, and the team’s form has improved over the last week in particular. It was a real team effort, with Dortmund hunting in packs to try and press the ball. When Matey Morey won the the ball just outside of the box after pressuring Benjamin Stambouli, Sancho was in the right place at the right time to receive the ball to slot home with ease and confidence. It will do him a world of good as his form continues to improve at a critical time for the team.
Sancho’s passing was also much better in this game. His pass completion percentage has been on the rise of late, steadily reaching a general percentage above 80%, which is a massive improvement. Most importantly however, he was able to provide an assist for Haaland who scored a sensational, acrobatic volley to make it 2-0 just before half time. The Norwegian goal machine connected with Sancho’s cross from outside of the box to scissor kick it past Schalke keeper Michael Langer.
In addition to the goal he scored late in the second half to put Dortmund up 4-0, Haaland now sits on 27 goals in 25 appearances this season, a sublime number that highlights Haaland’s scoring prowess, as well as his importance to this Dortmund side.
Notable additional mentions in the attacking apartment are Raphael Guerreiro and Jude Bellingham, the former contributing with a goal of his own while the latter recorded an important assist. It almost seems as if Rapha scoring against Schalke is tradition at this point, with the Portuguese international now at four goals and three assists in this fixture.
It was also nice to see Bellingham have a positive attacking contribution, as you can always see how hard the young Englishman works when going forward with the ball to either try to create or score on his own. He’s been quite unlucky on a couple of occasions now so it was nice to see his hard work pay off this time.