VFL Wolfsburg 2-0 Borussia Dortmund: Key Takeaways

Jude Bellingham’s performance shows the necessity for other players to step up and contribute

It almost feels very strange to say it, but for the first time this season, Jude Bellingham hasn’t had a stellar performance. The English international has been Borussia Dortmund’s brightest player all season long, scoring decisive goals, providing assists, and making critical tackles. Against Wolfsburg however, his passes seemed off and far less telegraphed. Jude also had far more trouble making inroads when faced with how deep and compact Wolfsburg were at times, which is usually something he excels in.

The fact of the matter is, just like every player, even the most talented are bound to have an off day, and Jude is no exception. The main conclusion to draw from Bellingham’s sub par performance is that there wasn’t anyone around him that stepped up to compensate for his off day.

For much of this season, when talking about Borussia Dortmund we’ve often talked about the idea of individual quality, which, at least on paper, the team is certainly not short on. The problem has often stemmed from BVB over-relying on individual quality rather than collective cohesion to glaze over the fact that as a unit they are underperforming. When a player like Bellingham is unable to perform to their usual standards, the others often slip into the shadows as well.

The most infuriating thing about this part of Borussia Dortmund’s nature is that we’ve seen them overcome this in glimpses, particularly when playing against opposition of a higher calibre. They have shown that they can take on the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich this season, but often seem taken aback when a team like Wolfsburg presses them from the off, just as we saw in the opening stages of the first half.