Three Keys to a Borussia Dortmund win vs Bayer Leverkusen

Make Leverkusen Earn It

Coming away with wins against both Augsburg and Mainz is to be expected, but to do so while conceding 4 goals is far from acceptable. Leverkusen will be anything but forgiving should history repeat itself with a horrendous marking display on the part of the BVB defenders. Indeed, it’s been the atrocious man-marking that has stood out as the most obvious area for fundamental improvement since the league restarted.

Mats Hummels, who had a fair share of support for a potential national team call-up before the World Cup in Qatar, put in an uncharacteristically underwhelming shift vs Augsburg. Nico Schlotterbeck could hardly lay claim to much of a better performance in his own right.

Against Mainz, there was little to inspire confidence in the defensive stability of the team despite only allowing one goal. Bo Svensson’s side squandered multiple chances in the second half, including a couple of late-game opportunities where BVB looked reluctant to put in the necessary effort to track back and stop a slow-developing counter-attack. This also raises questions about the tactical management of the game and how the side needs to be set up in order to handle the different phases of the game.

Florian Wirtz is back and prepared to take the creative reins of Leverkusen’s free-flowing attack. Equipped with momentum and a high-caliber supporting cast, he is by far the biggest threat BVB’s leaky defense has faced since Jamal Musiala. So it’s imperative for a solid shape to be held and a commitment to pour energy into individual defending to endure from the first minute to the last. A clear style of play remains blurred in regards to what Edin Terzic wants in an ideal world. Regardless, the tone of this particular game needs to be set by the character shown at the back.