Bayer Leverkusen 3-4 Borussia Dortmund: Key Talking Points
Thomas Meunier shows a level of improvement in his game
By far one of the most criticized players over the course of his time at Borussia Dortmund, it has not been an easy start to life in the Bundesliga for Thomas Meunier. Underwhelming performances have left many uncertain as to whether or not he has what it takes to play right back for the club, but despite Dortmund’s defensive woes, it has to be said that there were redeeming qualities to Meunier’s game this time around.
One of the more prevalent criticisms that Meunier’s performances have garnered has to do with the disparity between his performances for Belgium and his performances for Dortmund. For Belgium, Meunier often shows his quality, particularly in the passes and crosses he delivers when bombing forward. This has hardly been the case for the Belgian international whenever he has donned Dortmund’s kit, but in this game against Leverkusen, Die Schwarzgelben fans finally got a glimpse of those qualities as Meunier was a driving force behind a lot of what went right for Dortmund, particularly in the first half.
Meunier’s positioning when he received the ball on the edge of the box was quite good throughout the game. It put him in the space to deliver those killer crosses that have been missing from his game in the past. They came more frequently and had far more of a lethal affect than in the past.
His cross was responsible for delivering the ball to Erling Haaland’s head for the first strike, and he was also responsible for the cross that eventually led to Jude Bellingham’s disallowed goal. It would be amazing to see him build on this performance and grow in both influence and confidence so that we could feel more secure about the player who has been tasked with running our right flank this season.
Final thoughts
Though in the end Borussia Dortmund were able to walk away from the BayArena with a win, the performance once again highlighted the shortcomings this team will have to curtail if they want to keep winning and climbing the table, and it starts with curbing the amount of goals they let in. That being said, as we’ve explored, it’s not all doom and gloom in defense.
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Newcomer Marin Pongračić showed promise that he can quickly integrate and help stop the flood of goals the club has been experiencing. Thomas Meunier has also shown that perhaps he too can step up and deliver more impactful performances for his side. It will be up to Marco Rose to look at this match with his side as a warning and a learning experience to build from so that the whole squad is ready for the many games ahead.