Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb: Three Takeaways as the Black and Yellows prove they can win on the road

There is an away form enigma

One lowly point is all Borussia Dortmund have managed to earn from away games in the Bundesliga this season. But in the UEFA Champions League, it’s two wins from three games, with the singular loss coming against the defending champions. Even that match consisted of a very good first-half. I don’t want to talk about the second half, but this Borussia Dortmund squad does know how to play away from home. We beat Club Brugge 3-0 away, and now we defeated Dynamo Zagreb 3-0 away. So what’s the issue?

One could argue that the two away wins in the Champions League games came against teams who play in inferior leagues to the Bundesliga. But Dynamo Zagreb have scored at least twice in each of their UCL games before this one, including their 2-9 defeat to Bayern in Munich. Club Brugge beat Premier League side Aston Villa in Belgium, but they fell apart under Dortmund’s late pressure just weeks prior. After five matchdays, the two teams are in 22nd and 23rd respectively, places that are above the likes of RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, and even Real Madrid. So I give credit to both Club Brugge and Dynamo Zagreb for their UCL exploits thus far, and I won’t write them off. Instead, I’ll praise BVB for a job well done.

Yes, the Westfalenstadion has been a boon this season, but it isn’t the only stadium these players know how to play football in. Even on a Zagreb pitch that saw players slipping left and right. The away European matches have an added element of travel as well, further distances than across Germany, but BVB had little trouble today, even keeping a clean sheet. This is the kind of performance that Sahin needs to build on as he leads this squad to the winter break. This match was an example of what could be in the Bundesliga.