Disappointing to hear Favre get backing and to see that we have reverted to a back four. It's stupidity like this, which I don't understand. We have been excellent with 4 at the back and Meunier has been much better as a right back rather than a wing back. Why are we sacrificing a defender for an attacking player when we have been keeping so many clean sheets recently? Why is Witsel starting? Anyway with Bayern dropping points this is a must win and I think we will do. -----Burki Meunier--Can--Akanji--Hummels--Raphael Brandt-- Dahoud--Witsel--Reus --Haaland We should have switched Witsel for an attacking winger either Reyna/Sancho/Hazard and played Can as a midfielder. But come on Dortmund.
From the players, it's an interesting lineup. More mature and experienced in attack but we are missing speed on the wings. We'll get a better picture about the formation once the game starts. Kicker's initial guess was a 3 man midfield with Can and the only thing I didn't like about their formation was Brandt as a winger: Bürki Meunier Akanji Hummels Guerreiro Can Dahoud Witsel Brandt Haaland Reus But now, knowing Favre, a back 3 seems more likely.
We've started very sloppily. We lack speed out wide. We need to get a goal and win despite the performance.
Well we are losing. It was the wrong formation with the wrong players and now we are behind. We were needlessly defensive. Burki possibly should have done better. Witsel should not have let his man have a free shot. There is no chemistry and the players look like their heads have dropped already. The pitch is also awful. Favre is such a fool.
There was a short phase after the goal when we played with more pace. Berlin is very beatable but now being down a goal, I think another attacker is needed. Maybe move Can into the midfield as he's been pushing forward at times anyways and add Sancho or Hazard for either Dahoud or Witsel.
There was never a need for an extra defender in the first place. It was stupid. Witsel should never be near our team. We should always start with one of Sancho/Hazard and the another one of Reus/Reyna. The bad pitch does not help, but we need to win this to out pressure on Bayern and show they are seriously being challenged this year.
Haaland 2:1. Strange game. After our goal, Berlin looked as if they were the ones going for the win and we just sliced through their open defense.
No he has won his fair share defensively and has speed to get back. Witsel too slow and has let his man run past him several times. Ultimately Brandt has been creative enough and Haaland has been great. 3-1 Meunier was actually quite good at right back, but he is awful at full back. Reus has not had the best game either.
Haaland 3:1. Berlin doesn't even look bad in attack but they are imploding in the back. They can still be dangerous so the team better stays focused.
No VAR for today's game? That penalty looked like a clear dive. Thankfully Haaland answers right away.
Haaland with 4 goals, what a beast he is! On a side note, I gather VAR isn’t working today? What a bizarre decision to give a penalty to Hertha without even checking it for a clear dive, mind blowing decision.
Haaland is a incredible player. We have such a great squad with so much depth and it was great to see Moukoko come on for his debut. Even with Favre's poor selection in the first half the team is just too strong.
- We play boring Favreball - Favre's favorites: Reus, Witsel and Reyna. - Favre's give-me-any-or-no-reason-to-bench list: Dahoud and Sancho. They are too exciting for him. - Hertha's defense sucked - Favre has forbidden his players from scoring in the first half - Favre's screaming is annoying. In his first year or 2 he was so silent, now he is shouting non-stop. Looks to me like micro-management. I wonder what he is saying with all this screaming. - Haaland! - Moukoko! (Coming soon)
To be fair: Favre has gotten better at beating mid-table teams more consistently. But their squad quality is much lower than ours in the first place. That helps us win these games. And it's often goals from plays which, knowing Favre, are probably not what he had in mind, like Can's run to create the first goal. I highly doubt Favre wanted Can to dribble 2/3 of the field, and continue his run to the other end. But Favre still can't adjust our team to win these matches against high quality opposition like Bayern. I don't think he will manage to do it by the end of the year.
The quality of this is immense. I said at the start of the year we probably have a better squad than Bayern and the best squad in the world. Our first team is just a little bit behind theirs. We now need a sustained period where we play our best team for the most part. A 4-3-3 Meunier--Akanji--Hummels--Raphael ---‐--------Dahoud----Can Sancho--------'Brandt------Reus ---‐------------------Haaland. Hazard swaps with Sancho or Reus Bellingham swaps with Dahoud or Can Reyna swaps with Brandt or Reus That should be our main 14 players. Then Delaney can sometimes play to rest Can. Zagadou can play to rest Hummels or Akanji Morey for Meunier Schulz for Raphael Moukoko for Haaland. It's a dream squad. I have been supporting Dortmund for over 23 years and this is the best squad we have ever had, by far.
Hi guys, just a quick one, I was reading on an Italian portal today that Borussia signed a deal with the company ByBit. I could not find any confirmation of it on any English speaking websites. Anyone here knows si about it and can link to a website for me to double check? This is the link to the article about the partnership
No idea man.. Didn't see it on Ruhr Nachrichten. I'm watching Leeds vs Arsenal, and it's amazing the way Bielsa is making his team play. Constant movement, forward passing. If he had our squad they'd be scoring 5 goals per game.
Yes I was saying that he would do very well with a top team, but he is not alone. There are lots of realistic managers that would do wonders with our squad: Nagelsmann, Rose, Marsh, Farke etc. Favre was the right man when he was appointed and we had a weak squad with the likes of Larsen, old LP at right back, Castro, no striker etc However we now have a technical super squad and we need a manager capable of managing such a squad. Bayern losing Kimmich is huge. Hopefully they can drop some more points in the coming weeks.
There's no doubt about the amount of talent in our squad. And I do agree it's comparable to Bayern. It's just that Bayern play to their full potential or even more. They know how to motivate their players somehow, every season, every game. Plus their players are more experienced.
That is huge point that needs to be hammered in a lot more. The experience factor accross the board cannot be overstated. They are experienced winners and have that engaved into their DNA. Our younf players are much more talented than thiers but their young/er players have experience winning and know what it takes to win which we lack. Just reading over on the reddit subform how the vast majority of posters are quite alright with and even approve of Watzke's backing of Favre which says a lot about the fan expectations.