Borussia Dortmund’s away day woes and how Sebastien Haller can help fix them

Borussia Dortmund’s away day blues

2-2 vs Schalke, 3-3 vs Stuttgart and the most painful of them all, 1-1 against Bochum. Apart from the trip to Munich, the other three away games from the past four showcased similar themes. All three ended in draws with missed chances, inability to prevent counters and getting frustrated by low blocks.

All these games witnessed Borussia Dortmund facing two lines of five and four for large periods of time. At home, BVB usually find a way through runs made by Julian Brandt or Jude Bellingham behind the lines that create numerical overloads against the defence. But somehow these aren’t as prevalent when the team is not being cheered on by 81,000 supporters.

A classic example was the game against Vfl Bochum. Dortmund’s derby rivals conceded through a Karim Adeyemi tap in created by Donyell Malen. But after that, the Bochumers resorted to increasing numbers at the back and keeping it compact. Malen and Adeyemi struggled to create that kind of space again throughout the game.

Now although BVB had an xG of 3.11 over the game compared to Bochum’s 0.61, which means that more problems existed with missing chances than with creating them. But as a general theme, the absence of a backup strategy is often missed.

Edin Terzic’s alternative option is usually bringing in Youssoufa Moukoko or Gio Reyna, both of whom also rely on creating internal channels. There’s a pressing need to create more unpredictability in the eyes of the opponents.