Mahmoud Dahoud: From forgotten man to Borussia Dortmund’s influential midfielder

DFB Pokal quarter-final against Borussia Mönchengladbach

The DFB-Pokal quarter-finals saw Borussia Dortmund return to the ground they suffered a 4-2 league defeat in not long ago. Dahoud did not feature in that meeting, and this time around helped Dortmund to a vital result.

Borussia Dortmund’s biggest issue in the previous meeting was their inability to defend set pieces, which led to three of Gladbach’s four goals. The difficulty in dealing with the Gladbach forwards presented the Foals with the free kick opportunities and the extended move which led to Ramy Bensebaini’s game winner.

This time, Dahoud started in a midfield three alongside Delaney and Bellingham. While it was far from a quiet night from the Gladbach forwards, Dortmund were able to control the game without the ball for long stretches of the contest. A majority of Gladbach’s efforts, especially late in the game, were efforts from distance that were wide of the target or easily dealt with by Marwin Hitz.

Dahoud was again able to create some half-chances going forward, but unfortunately nothing was able to come from the resulting play. He also had some goal bound efforts that forced the Gladbach backline into some crucial blocks in their own six yard box.

Dahoud did get a second yellow and was sent off late in the game, putting his performance in a less positive light. Dortmund were not forced to play with ten men for long though, so the absence did not come back to hurt them. Instead, how preventable the second booking was served as the bigger issue, even if it was a somewhat harsh decision. The midfielder will now be suspended for the semifinal as a result. If Dortmund are to make the final, you have to imagine that Dahoud will still have a role to play in this competition going forward.