Borussia Dortmund 7-1 Celtic: Three takeaways from dominant win in the UEFA Champions League

Borussia Dortmund’s strongest XI was on the field

Serhou Guirassy has been looking right at home since he joined the squad, scoring in four consecutive matches, Tuesday being his second brace in a row.

Julian Brant looked more comfortable and creative in the midfield, while Jamie Gittens and Karim Adeyemi have been regular goal threats. Pascal Groß has played every match since joining and seems integral to Nuri Sahin’s system, while Emre Can has shaken off his poor performances in the early games, and begun delivering the aggressive holding performances he’s best at, not to mention his reliability in converting penalty kicks.

Yan Cuoto seems to have emerged as a strong right-back choice, and Julian Ryerson has been versatile, playing both sides of the pitch. I think Schlotterbeck and Anton are a good centre-back pairing and seem to have developed a reasonable understanding of one another. Gregor Kobel is Gregor Kobel, need I say more.

So where does this leave a player like Marcel Sabitzer? He has the quality to be in Borussia Dortmund’s starting XI without a doubt, but his strongest position is somewhat absent within Nuri Sahin’s system. Emre Can and Pascal Groß seem to be the strongest pairing in the six and eight roles, but the latter's role is somewhat unique in progressive passing, receiving back passes, and redistributing the ball

Sabitzer tends to play a more attacking role, with movements into the box and semi-frequent strikes at goal, like a false-nine. Both players are decent at taking set pieces, but Sabitzer is more likely to take a direct free-kick while Groß would cross or pass to create an opening, and I think the ‘playmaking’ is what Nuri Sahin prefers for this system. Sabitzer can play on the wings, or in the ten like Brandt, but he’s not as strong as others in those positions. We did still see Sabitzer come in as a substitute, but he struggled to fully integrate himself into the match.  

While I might suggest this is the current strongest XI, Borussia Dortmund’s bench looks eager to impress. Felix Nmecha looks to have finally found form, scoring in two consecutive matches now. Ramy Bensebaini is improving with the added competition for places, and Maximilian Beier is a highly-rated young striker who will likely find his first goal for BVB soon.

Perhaps the most exciting to watch was Julien Duranville, the eighteen-year-old Belgian who replaced Karim Adeyemi after injury. Duranville displayed some of his technical ability in the final third, and even managed two shots on target. He seems to be developing well, and a four-goal cushion was the perfect opportunity to give him some Champions League experience.