RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Dortmund: Key Talking Points

Borussia Dortmund continue to resist modifying their attacking play in light of the available personnel

When one thinks of the type of football that Borussia Dortmund are known for or expected to play, there’s a few key terms that come to mind: pace, technical prowess, passing finesse and tenacity. This is at least what the club has at least tried to produce since the beginning of the Klopp era.

The fact of the matter is that without the proper personnel, some of these facets have been very much unavoidably missing. Injuries to Donyell Malen, Karim Adeyemi and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens have robbed Dortmund of the ability to really threaten opponents out wide. These players have the pace and trickery to stretch defenses and latch on to through balls put in at speed behind the defense.

In addition to having Adeyemi, Malen and Bynoe-Gittens all sidelined, it also hasn’t helped that Dortmund main striker, Anthony Modeste, is far from the fastest or most technical man on the pitch. Modeste excels at feeding off of crosses. It’s a simple enough concept, except for the fact that Dortmund, as a side are not a team that have relied on crosses or set pieces to score most of their goals, and it looks like they are having quite a hard time adjusting to this concept, as the game against Leipzig showed.

Throughout the encounter, Dortmund entered phases of what I would call a footballing identity crisis. With Modeste up front they would still try to play in those pacey through balls that the likes of Erling Haaland used to feed off of, only to see Modeste several steps behind the pass in question. Then, when they did indeed play the ball into the box and create situations that favor Modeste’s style of play, the crosses themselves were abysmally off target, squandering any potential opportunity for Modeste to be useful in that particular situation.

It’s clear that Dortmund will have to work harder on perfecting the facets of their game that will allow Modeste to blossom and become a productive member in this side. It isn’t the Frenchman’s fault at all that he doesn’t fit Dortmund’s go-to style of play, but both parties have to work harder to find a solution where they can help each other be successful moving forward.