VfB Stuttgart 0-2 Borussia Dortmund: Key Takeaways

Julian Brandt finally finds some form for Borussia Dortmund

Julian Brandt’s season up until this point has been a very peculiar one. Dips in form have been followed by relatively random spurts of promising play that, when one thinks about the acclaim and excitement around his signing in 2019, makes you want to get excited all over again.

It’s always been clear that Brandt, as a player, is naturally talented. Despite this, for some reason, it has been very difficult for him to find some definitive form since his move from Bayer Leverkusen. This season has been his most exemplary for Dortmund in terms of Bundesliga productivity, with the German international now sitting on 7 goals and 6 assists in 26 appearances.

Where there have been a substantial number of instances where Brandt’s positioning, finishing and propensity to lose the ball in dangerous areas have led to rightful criticism, Brandt’s performance against Stuttgart was rather concentrated and efficient. For both goals, Brandt was in the right place at the right time, and was able to bury his chance with conviction and confidence.

While one performance is of course not enough to say we are finally going to see the best of Brandt, we can say that his play against Stuttgart was indeed effective and that many would certainly like to see this sort of play continue in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Borussia Dortmund’s game against Stuttgart has come and gone, and with 5 games left to be played it will be important for them to maintain a level of focus to make sure that they can finish as close to Bayern a possible points wise.

Finishing the season strongly will be a good building block for the team as a whole, but also allow players with uncertain futures to show their commitment to the club, which looks to bring in fresh faces to either challenge or replace the players who haven’t lived up to expectations.