I sure hope so.... but Bellingham did come on the field after the other team was gassed from chasing the ball around all night. At any rate... IMO... Bellingham is the future... and so is Gio.... they should be starting the majority of the games this season.
BvB Buzz got the ratings out: https://bvbbuzz.com/2020/10/28/borussia-dortmund-player-ratings-sancho-haaland-zenit-win/ Akanji, Dahoud, Sancho and Haaland are the best players with 7/10. Gio & Witsel the worst with 5/10. PS: Yeah don't get it either. They're usually fair.
I’m with you on this one, I thought he had a good game against a packed in defense. I feel like Favre’s tactics always stutter when playing a team that plays 11 players within 35 years of goal. He he was clean in his touches drew a couple fouls and facilitated play. Had a couple opportunities was unlucky on an occasion or two and made some mistakes. I’d give him a 6 and I’d probably give Dahoud a 5. if you want a culprit, there is a reason Dahoud came off first, way too many attacks and smooth possession play died at his feet. He was even bad. Just a tough game with those tactics (Favres teams always try to pass it into goal, and there is just not enough room playing a week disciplined team like that) and without a dominant aerial threat to cross into.
Whatever rating you give Reyna, one of his most impressive qualities so far: I don't think he's had a debacle game yet. Hasn't dipped below 5/10 yet (at least for me) and obviously has had a few brilliant games.
One of the well-known BVB beat writers panned Gio's performance with a 5 grade, echoing Favre and Zorc's postgame laments that both Reyna and Sancho were too eager to drift centrally and clog up BVB's attacking space against Zenit's bus. The game showed collective shortcomings, but Gio didn't have a good game either. They have to be mindful of using space effectively, especially when 4 guys in the lineup are effectively #10 types.
Gio was OK from what I saw, although my stream kept cutting out. I can see why some would be dissatisfied though. He's tasked with a lot and if you're one of the key attackers and you spend a lot of time on the ball in your opponents half but your team generates little in the way of chances, hard to say you had a good game. His job when the other team is bunkering is to find a way through, and yesterday he didn't. With Gio, it is always a matter of degrees. His less impressive games he still maintains possession and he still links up well with his teammates, that's just what he does. He's good enough that his mediocre is still solid even at this level. But, on his day, he breaks down the opponent and creates chances. He saw a lot of the ball and created little, not his best day. He's being given a lot of responsibility so he will get a lot of credit when things are going well and blame when they are not.
As a Gio and USMNT fan (rather than a BVB fan), I can’t help but think of all this experience positively. He’s so young. Especially when he plays centrally has a bit of that boss-in-the-middle vibe about him that you got a lot of with Zidane or Viera. I can’t help but think his game complements our wingers and the DMs we have. Makes me feel optimistic, even when he has a middling club performance.
Just sack Favre already. mans dahoud playing at bvb is an embarrassment if you support bvb. He’s not good and shouldn’t be on that team.
I didn’t think Reyna had a great game but not the worst either. He has to put that chance on frame. To me the biggest problem was they couldn’t attack through the middle of the pitch. Dahoud was terrible. Bellingham, Brandt and Delaney are all far better - Dahoud is like their 5th best CM, he shouldn’t be getting meaningful minutes unless there is an injury. I was not impressed with Reus either.
What's ironic, is the consensus among Dortmund fans, is that Dahoud had a good game & they are satisfied w/ him as the 8. Reality is his passing array is basic, he doesn't break down the opponent off the dribble, make storming runs into the box, win the ball well, etc.; or just about anything you task your 8 with. However he does take speculative shots. They should sell the guy already. Start Bellingham & use Can there as an alternative or get another suitable backup like Gonzalo Castro was. Reus may be losing it, so the 10 can be more often where you use Gio, w/ Marco spelling him instead of the other way around. And Gio can provide cover at wing. I thought Gio looked much better at the 10, & would have benefited off Bellingham's entrance as everybody did.
I think it is in the right area. BVB need Brandt to pick the ball up below the circle. His movement on the dribble scrambles the opponent's defense which creates the openings for Gio, Sancho, Haaland, Reuss above the circle. I only saw the game before Brandt came on but I see they only scored after he came on.
Dortmund always seems to have a player or two who gets playing time that far exceeds their ability. Meunier and Dahoud are this season's duo, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Marius Wolf, and Max Philipp a couple of years ago, late-stage Gonzalo Castro before that, etc. Actually, looking at the numbers, Dahoud is that guy every season. He has almost 4,000 minutes at Dortmund. In his last 2,700 minutes (so roughly 30 complete matches), he has 1 goal and 1 assist. That dates back to March 2018.
They just don’t have the quality across the squad to really compete with the best teams in Europe. I’m not one of those “ the EPL is the greatest” guys, but Dahoud would struggle to get time at clubs like Everton and Leicester City. That Dortmund almost always has someone like him in the starting 11 explains why they can’t come close to Bayern in the league.
I can’t speak for Detroit these days, but when’s the last time you visited Pittsburgh? It’s one of the more underrated cities in America.
Compared to past Dortmund teams, they have fewer such mediocrities who make it into the team. (By the way, Gonzo Castro has reached a further evolutionary state at Matarazzo's Stuttgart...) I would argue Dahoud and Meunier don't really fall into this category - Meunier has been mostly bad before the past two games, but he was a big name as a Belgium stalwart and someone who very well might have played the CL final for PSG had they agreed on a summer extension this year. Dahoud is more of a high-upside talent who just hasn't reached his (perceived) potential since joining BVB - on his day he has the best passing range and creativity in central midfield, certainly compared to Delaney and Witsel. He's never had an extended run in the team in his three seasons, probably mostly down to his own inconsistency.
Pittsburgh* If one is going to insult the intelligence of an entire city, one should probably spell that city correctly.