Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Barcelona: Three takeaways as BVB suffer first home defeat of the season
By Joseph Meyer
We can’t afford to lose Nico Schlotterbeck
This section was going to be called: “Nico Schlotterbeck is the leader Borussia Dortmund needs,” but after his late header attempt and subsequent landing, I’ve changed my mind. I can only speculate on a potential injury, but seeing Schlotterbeck taken off on a stretcher is not a good sign. Schlotterbeck has been one of Dortmund’s most consistent players this season, adapting well to whomever he’s been paired with in central defence. He’s a player in his prime, and he’s being touted as BVB’s next captain, with rumours of a contract extension surfacing. He’s a key member of this squad.
Should Nico Schlotterbeck be sidelined, that leaves Borussia Dortmund in a terribly precarious situation heading into the weekend, with Niklas Süle having been ruled out for a prolonged period, while Waldemar Anton is out after aggravating his injury against Bayern.
That leaves Borussia Dortmund with no fit central defenders in the squad. Even today, Emre Can played the role of centre-back, a position he’s not known to be astute at. So, who might fill the void? Felix Nmecha’s appearance in the position was perhaps his worst of this season. Youngster Almugera Kabar could slot in, but his most notable achievement for the senior team is receiving two yellow cards in a short cameo. Perhaps the versatile Julian Ryerson will fill the void, assuming his half-time substitution wasn’t due to injury. Or Ramy Bensebaini, who has played at centre-back for Algeria.