Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz: Three Takeaways from gritty win at the Westfalenstadion
By Joseph Meyer
The CL league phase has reached its mid-point, and Borussia Dortmund are in a very good position
From their first four matches, BVB have won three of them and lost just one, earning nine points in total. Both the win against Celtic, and today’s win are games I expect BVB to win.
They were home games against teams from lesser pots, and Dortmund carry a significant advantage when playing in their stadium. Winning home games in the Champions League is crucial to advancement, and results like 7-1 against Celtic immensely help BVB’s goal differential, which could play a role in league phase advancement.
The win away at Club Brugge was a boon. That’s an important three points to have going into the back half of the league phase. I’m not worried about the loss to Real Madrid since we’ve written about and discussed that game enough. I never expected Dortmund to win it, and the fact they took a two-goal lead and then conceded five caused emotional reactions, rightfully so. But going away to the team that beat BVB in the UCL Final last season was always going to be an uphill battle. Besides, Dortmund finish round four ahead of them anyway.
In the coming weeks, BVB will travel to Dynamo Zagreb and then host Barcelona, two matches which will be vital in Dortmund’s push for a top-eight finish. Zagreb is a winnable away match, but Barcelona is a daunting home match. BVB will look to keep their perfect home record against a foe that just beat Real Madrid 4-0 at the Bernabeu. In the new year, we can hope the injured players return as Borussia Dortmund close out the league phase with matches away in Bologna and hosting Shaktar Donetsk.
Nine points from four games is a great start to this new Champions League format. At the time of writing, Borussia Dortmund sit in fourth place, but could fall as low as tenth once all matches have played. I think it’s most likely BVB will end this round between sixth and eighth. Finishing in the top-eight will only be feasible with consistency, but I think Borussia Dortmund can avoid the first knockout round and qualify straight into the last sixteen.
Now here’s hoping for a good away game!
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