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Winter Review: Borussia Dortmund’s best and worst performers of the season so far

By Reece Edwards

Borussia Dortmund duo Gregor Kobel and Jude Bellingham. (Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)
Borussia Dortmund duo Gregor Kobel and Jude Bellingham. (Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images) /
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Thorgan Hazard. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Thorgan Hazard. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images) /

Thorgan Hazard

One of the most unrecognizable characteristics of this Borussia Dortmund squad has been its inability to create much from wing play. What Jadon Sancho had been providing has still not been replaced. A lengthy injury to Jaime Bynoe-Gittens created a void that was there to stay for the remainder of the first half of the season as Thorgan Hazard (as well as Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi) failed to make much of an impact when called upon.

Similar to Emre Can, Hazard has been far too wasteful in possession and appears reluctant to avoid a back-heel attempt in consistently ill-advised scenarios. What the club needs most is not for him to replicate what Sancho had been delivering. This only serves to downplay the quality of the latter and illustrate a false narrative of the expectations for the former. Instead, what Hazard needs to provide is direct ball progression into dangerous areas.

He’s always shown flashes of this ability and will still be given the chance to regain the trust of his coach to deploy him against top-quality opposition. Again, a loaded competitive schedule for the club means that players like Hazard will get their chances, but there needs to be a philosophical alteration to the way in which the winger approaches these moments.