If either Pulisic or Reus finish those first half chances, it's a totally different and more enjoyable game. Dortmund was just really passive about getting behind the defense - almost a possession at all costs approach that "worked" in terms of limiting Brugge's chances, but also didn't generate sufficient chances for BVB.
Yes - I've been in a meeting since Sancho came on, but it looked like Puli profited from the dynamic introduced by him.
Dortmund's best squad, attacking only, is close to what they ended the game with. If Hakimi replaces Piszczek (instead of Diallo) and Witsel stays on, then that is the most attacking talent they have. You could see that Sancho was going to get his chances, added on to the chances they had. And add an overlapping Hakimi. But they don't have much understanding. When you consider how much of the team is new this season, and how young they are on average, it makes sense they wouldn't be reading each other's minds. But today CP showed why they need him to run at people. Several (four, at least) good chances were created when he took people on. He needs to find the shot or the layoff at the end, but it is pretty remarkable how many players he got through. I can hear some people rolling their eyes (get some eye oil, then you roll smooth) and saying that without the finished product it is worthless. I suppose you can count every play that doesn't create or prevent a goal to be worthless... but that is a pretty shallow view of the game.
I think the star of this game was the man marking Reus, Nakamba. Superb defending, for the most part, covering all lanes. Today Brugge showed the world how you can neutralize this very good Dortmund team. In Dortmund, Atletico tried their usual pressing/zonal marking and it didn't work. Brugge kept things compact with always one outlet on the opposite side, covered the wings (Poulain put Guerreiro in his pocket, Denswil had a bit more trouble with Pulisic), and cut off the brain of Dortmund from the attack as much as possible (Reus is crucial for their style). I was impressed by the Flemish club.
Good take. His runs are fantastic, most times. He need to do this more often, and should be allow to do so. Once he can finally put that shot on target, or lay it off at the feet of a teammate; then he'll be quite spectacular. Quite a bit of work to do still. I've not seen many players with an initially burst like him in an open field, or once he turned a defender. Most defenders would be force to take him down from behind, once he turns on that jet engine.
did you watch? I thought he looked kind of shaky. I hope for the best but that game won't convince anyone of Horvath's qualities. He almost scored an own-goal that would have lived in infamy.
I only caught the highlights. But he didn't appear bad. Looked solid but nothing out of the ordinary.
He bobbled the weird, super-high pop-up to concede a corner. To call it "almost an own goal" seems to be overstating it a bit. I do think it trashed his hopes for a fall-back career as an NFL punt returner. Otherwise I think his reputation wasn't damaged by this game. He made the saves he had to and kept a clean sheet against an excellent team.