Auba who? Wow . Defence was v poor today , but some spirit in that team . Great to see Rapha and Mario back
hope he does, after the way they fouled entire game, there couldnt be a more satisfying win than this
It's no secret that this team can attack. Nice creativity and good movement when the team finds the switch. So far I had been quite confident in our defense but if we continue like this, we won't always be able to repair our mistakes. Especially the deadball situations are a worry. I also wonder whether playing against a tiring opponent is part of the gameplan. We don't start games the way we end them. But when the opponent gets tired, we find another gear.
It's been a while seen I have seen that "fire" from the team with a will to believe that it's not over until the very end.
I would say the team still needs one attacking wide player of quality. Someone we can constantly rely on. As for today the defence had an off day, but Zagadou is in general mistake prone, which is to be expected for an 18 year old centre back. However, today as a whole they were bad. Weigl had below par game too. He wasn't good enough, but Witsel was very good today. Special praise has to be made for Alcacer. He would make the team better just being a striker, but he is much, much better than I thought. I still don't think it's good long term business, because sadly he will go back to Barca next season, but he looks brilliant. What a performance and to score the free kick under pressure. Larsen is OK, but he shouldn't be starting for me. He is below Sancho and below Pulisic. I do feel sorry for Philipp, because he is trying his best, but is played out of position. I really think he deserves a shot on the right. A LB and an attacking player is needed for me. Hopefully Gotze/Philipp will get that chance and Raphael at left back. It's ironic Schmelzer had finally improved after years of poor form and he gets injured.
This team is looking better as time goes on. If the young CB's can grow up fast, and Paco stays healthy, this could be a really good season. Top of the table and Bayern look vulnerable, exciting times
Three points but no clean sheet. I know Favre likes to experiment during first halves and adjust as games progress during second halves, but in doing so he's also giving opponents the iniative, and sooner or later giving opponents the iniative is going to backfire horribly as it almost did today. There will be times we will need to put certain games to bed early so our players can save up energy ahead of much tougher games, case in point being our upcoming game vs Stuttgart which is followed by the much tougher Atlético Madrid. Playing MP as a striker has proven a complete and utter failure, yet Favre still insists on it when his 10 minute cameo vs Monaco made it clear he's a winger/AM. This reminds me of the time Löw became obsessed with using a false 9 after winning the World Cup, an experiment he thankfully gave up on after Euro 2016. For those of you lamenting the fact that Alcácer is only on loan, let me remind you that he only agreed to the loan deal after failing to find another club in Spain, meaning his heart is dead set in Spain, and if he continues his amazing form throughout the season both domestically and internationally, plus a declining Suárez it's back to Barcelona for him, so don't get your hopes up about signing him permanently. I just hope our season gives us enough leverage to lure Timo Werner away from Leipzig. Götze scored a crucial goal which may help him regain his confidence and footing in the squad. Finally our defence was way too lax, and we cannot allow ourselves to be so defensively naive again, especially in the Bundesliga. Overall I would rate this match a 5/10. Sure, we won but conceded way too many goals. Enjoy the international break, hope our players who got called up for international duty make it back safely and prepare for what is going to be the hardest stretch of the early season.
The deal has an option to buy for Dortmund, which Alcácer also agreed to. If you have the money then he can be yours next season.
Alcacer said after the game that he could imagine playing here longer than just this season but who knows what that is worth. The reported fee to buy him is very reasonable and not the problem but you'll also need to find an agreement with the player. If Barca calls again and offers him a perspective there, he'll want to take that chance, of course. But if it's none of the big 3 clubs in Spain, he might consider staying here. The atmosphere in the team seems really great right now which might play a factor.
From researching deeper into loan deals, every player has to negotiate with the club he is being loaned out toif there is an option to buy since the loan year is still under his Barcelona contract terms (Dortmund is paying his Barcelona salary this yer). Prior to agreeing the club option, the player has to sign an agreement for future contract that can be negotiated upon completion of loan deal. Same thig has happened with James Rodriguez and Bayern where contract terms we agreed/finalizes a few weeks ago. There would be no sense in making loan-with option to buy deals if the player can return after the loan period as the club gaines nothing, why not just loan him? Paco's agent had to agree to the option termsprior to green lighting the deal.
https://www.derwesten.de/sport/fussball/bvb/paco-alcacer-bvb-borussia-dortmund-id215201489.html Based on this, a 4-year contract has already been agreed upon prior to the loan agreement should Dortmund decide to pick-up the buy option
If this is the case, then I owe the board a huge apology and it was excellent business. I really hope it is the case.
For me, the first goal is just the football gods smiling on Augsburg. The other two are defensive lapses (but not huge ones) combined with excellent execution. It wasn't great but I don't feel super concerned about it. Can you imagine what the season would look like without Alcacer? Although it also seems true that BVB has the right talent to make a good finisher shine. It is a shame no finisher wants to stay. In addition to three points, there were no injuries, the young players got more minutes, and Gotze got some love.
Fantastic match again, but we can't rely on second half miracle and last seconds goals. There'll come better clubs than Augsburg and Monaco, and they will punish us hard (Atletico, Bayern etc). There's something wrong with the first 15 minuttes, like the team is not even trying. If it would be the other way around, we might have rested some of the key players in second half. No wonder we get tired with the match program we have and the type of football we play. Now, that all the best players have their international duties, it's maybe the time to integrate the rest of the squad and retrain them to new positions – Wolf to LB, maybe even Rode. And, by the way, after what Rode showed in the pre-season, I'm convinced he wouldn't be any worse than Weigl yesterday. I'm also convinced that Isak can do more on top than Phillip. With recent line-ups, Phillip and JBL might benefit of switching places. Last but not least, I'd soon make use of Gomez. He might be another Sancho.
Many seem convinced Paco will not stay, but BVB has all the cards here. He is already going to stay at least another season or the club will get big money for him. That is what options are about and it is a club option, not a Paco option. Sure he could pull a Dembele or Auba and get a trade, but BVB still got good money for both players. This team looks to be getting better and there is still room for improvement. The young defenders need to grow up and BVB can be a very good team. Paco can score a bunch of goals with this team. He may decide he likes it more than he thought he would!!