BVB’s 3-1 victory over SC Freiburg was a first small indication of the problems Edin Terzic still has to solve in order to develop the full potential of this squad. At the same time, it was a signal to the competition: Can Dortmund now also win work? Five insights into the away win.
No matter who was spoken to after this game, it was not easy for either team to classify the performance. “You have to honestly say that they were better up to 1-1,” said Nico Schlotterbeck after the final whistle DAZN.
Only Edin Terzic made a very clear and relaxed impression after his team’s 3-1 victory. The BVB coach never tired of praising his team’s performance and, above all, assessing how strong Freiburg was. For a long time it looked as if SC would be able to inflict BVB’s first defeat on the second day of the game.
Especially in the first round, the Breisgauers gradually took control of the action. “We had to fight not to concede the second before the break,” Terzic analyzed afterwards. But then he was satisfied with the reaction of his team. But where are Dortmund now after a guest appearance that brought good things and at the same time revealed well-known problems? Five insights into winning at work.
BVB swims on the defensive
“There’s a lot of room for improvement,” said Schlotterbeck when asked about the teamwork of the back four: “We could have conceded two or three.” At the same time, he believes “that it’s not so much up to us, we have to defend as a team.” And that’s exactly what BVB didn’t do well enough for long stretches.
Freiburg repeatedly played on the left side, where Thorgan Hazard and Thomas Meunier had great problems getting access, especially after long balls and side shifts. The SC often managed to open the game through central midfield and then shift it to one of the two wings. Dortmund also had a lot of good moments in pressing, which gave them one or the other good switching action in the first 45 minutes. However, from time to time they didn’t put any pressure on the ball-carrying players.
It was precisely at these moments that it was difficult for them to chase after them. The organization was sometimes lost easily, sometimes very clearly. So also before the 0:1. The long ball to Vincenzo Grifo came after Dortmund had defended a set piece against them. It must not happen to a team like BVB that shortly afterwards the full-back has to defend against a player like Grifo in isolation.
Terzic rightly pointed out that a strong team like Freiburg cannot be defended for 90 minutes. Nevertheless, his team has to move better if the pressing pressure in front and/or in the center is not enough to win the ball. Or, as Schlotterbeck put it: defend better as a team. “If we get that, then we’re a very good team because we have brutal quality up front,” said the central defender.
BVB: Too static offensive
Even in the offensive area, an assessment of BVB is difficult. For a long time, the black and yellow lacked dynamism. Only Marco Reus managed to offer himself between the lines two or three times. A space that Terzic also recognized. In the first half you stuck “too long in the last line”, he analyzed the statics.
In fact, the attacking game lacked the element of surprise. If Reus could turn it up, he had few connection options. Only when newcomer Anthony Modeste could be involved as a wall player with a remarkable combination of steep and gossip did it get really dangerous. Otherwise, there were no movements in the opposite direction for a long time.
Thorgan Hazard and Donyell Malen, who as wingers had the task of moving in the half-spaces, rarely sought depth, but at the same time could not be played often enough in the gaps. Malen had 34 ball actions, Hazard 29 and only the Dutchman managed a shot that was harmless.
