Borussia Dortmund vs VFB Stuttgart: Key Takeaways

Niklas Süle puts in a strong performance at right back:

Borussia Dortmund’s injuries this season have meant that many players have had to feature in roles that they usually don’t find themselves in. Niklas Süle is one of these players. Because of Mateu Morey’s long term injury recovery and Thomas Meunier’s fractured cheekbone, Edin Terzić was forced to deploy the Germany international at right back.

While right back isn’t a role he is completely unfamiliar with (Both Bayern Munich and Dortmund have previously deployed Süle in this position), it clearly isn’t the role Süle signed up to play long term in moving to Borussia Dortmund. The Germany international acquitted himself wonderfully in the position however both in his defensive duties as well as going forward.

Süle was responsible for converting Dortmund’s first successful set piece this season in the Bundesliga, and was the provider for Jude Bellingham’s opener for Dortmund as well. In the right back position, Süle was able to maintain a high pass success percentage (88.7%) and made a total of 5 progressive passes, one of which was the assist for Jude’s goal. Süle is also much faster than one would expect, making him capable of making runs down the line to help with play going forward. He also had 7 pressures and two tackles to his name throughout the game, though he did eventually move into central defense in the latter stages due to substitutions.

While right back is clearly not Süle’s primary nor favored position, in many ways I felt more comfortable watching him in this position than the aforementioned Meunier. Dortmund should certainly do their research to try and bring in a true right back when the moment allows, however its comforting to know that for now, especially while injuries continue to run rampant, that they have a solid choice to play the position in Süle if need be.