Terrifying performance at RB: Reus mercilessly buttoned BVB

Sunday, November 7th, 2021

Terrifying performance at RB
Reus mercilessly buttons BVB

By Tobias Nordmann

That was little or nothing from Borussia Dortmund: The top game of the eleventh match day in the Bundesliga is crashing at RB Leipzig. As furious as the hosts play in phases, BVB appears desolate. The captain’s collar bursts after the game.

As show legend Thomas Gottschalk in the Nuremberg exhibition hall in front of his “Wetten, dass …?” Audience and after a decade basking in applause from the 2,500 spectators, Marco Reus bursts the collar in the Leipzig central stadium. Because Borussia Dortmund suffered this Saturday evening. And that powerful. The BVB captain had scored a goal at RB Leipzig. It was 1: 1 in the meantime. And the goal in the 52nd minute was played out wonderfully. Right-back Thomas Meunier had put his teammate in the limelight and he had done well. If you will, that was Dortmund’s best action in this top game in the Bundesliga. And actually the only strong one.

That is bitter. For Borussia. Because on this eleventh game day, the Black and Yellows temporarily lost contact with FC Bayern. That’s the difference between these two big rivals. While Munich also struggles at home against the really strong SC Freiburg, they don’t lose the game. Unlike the Dortmund team, who had been impressed by Leipzig at times. The badly counted RB trainer Jesse Marsch set the strongest possible mark against the criticism of his work.

Criticism was still the big topic that evening in Leipzig. However, with the opponent. There Reus got a remarkable all-round blow after the 1: 2 defeat. And that should reverberate well into the upcoming international break. “We didn’t manage to be at eye level. In the aggressiveness, in the opening of the game. Overall, that was too little,” he grumbled at Sky. He was not disillusioned, assured the angry attacking player, no: His statements were “the truth. We just didn’t deserve it.”

Leipzig is very surprised

Especially the first 45 minutes drove the captain to despair. However, he did not only determine this due to the lack of intensity in the game, but also to the tactical orientation that coach Marco Rose had chosen for his team. “We switched to a back four in the second half. That suits us much better because we’re much more active there than in the five-man chain. In addition, in the five-man chain we have one less man in the center who can press with us. We even get there not clear, you have to be very clear. “

The first half in the Saxon metropolis provided impressive evidence of this. BVB had no chance. And completely. The fact that Leipzig only went 1-0 into the cabin after a goal by the outstanding Christopher Nkunku was the best news for the desolate Dortmunders, who at no time were able to free themselves from the grip of the immensely powerful grass baller. Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, the man who prevented more adversity, was on several occasions. “I’ve never seen Dortmunders who made so many mistakes in the build-up game,” said Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen. “Sometimes they just played balls out of bounds.”

System debate from Reus

It was no longer quite so one-sided after the change of sides. Also because the system has been adapted. Weak Marin Pongračić, who had caused quite a stir during the week with a surprisingly frank and accusatory interview, stayed outside. With Ansgar Knauff came a very young winger. Thorgan Hazard, actually an offensive all-rounder, gave the left-back. And he did it well. The whole construct became more stable, but BVB only a little better.

The coach did not want to lead a system debate that Reus had triggered with his lawsuit: “There are always different reasons for setting up. Today we set up how we can best get our boys into their positions.” The basic order is always one thing, the movement in the basic order the other. “We didn’t do that well in the first half. It’s not a question of the system. The discussion is unnecessary.” Especially since BVB have already achieved good results with a three / five chain, as Rose added.

BVB title as absurd as “Wetten, dass …?” – Future

Now, however, another truth is also required in order to draw the black and yellow picture harmoniously. The club’s staff is on the stick these weeks. Life insurance is simply missing with Erling Haaland. And if what Pongračić said during the week is true, then it will be a while before the Norwegian returns. With Mo Dahoud, Emre Can, Raphael Guerreiro and Giovanni Reyna, other top performers are currently not fit for duty. And also the last form strong Marius Wolf could not participate in Leipzig. That’s a bitter list.

It honors BVB and its coach that he did not want to use these problems to explain the bankruptcy. “We don’t want to look for excuses in any form, we want to tackle the resistance. We have to accept the resistance. There is resistance, but resistance is there to be bridged.” A system debate is now one of them.

In Nuremberg, Gottschalk pulls over, as in “Wetten, dass …?” has always been a tradition. It covers a lot. His comeback was sometimes entertaining, sometimes out of date and not long-term. Just like Dortmund’s master dreams in almost every season. Because one thing is clear regardless of any system debates: Anyone who counts Borussia Dortmund among the title contenders in the current condition and with the current staff will see in “Wetten, dass …?” also the future of German TV entertainment.