Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | Champions League 2019/20

#3 Mats Hummels reminds the world what he is capable of

Mats Hummels

Mats Hummels has endured a tumultuous couple of seasons lately. In the summer of 2018, the defender was a part of Germany’s ill-fated World Cup title defence and inevitably, many questioned if the centre-back possessed the requisite quality to continue at the highest level.

In the aftermath of the aforementioned debacle, Joachim Low decided to drop the experienced defender from his succeeding squads, signalling that he wanted to nurture younger defenders.

On the club front, things weren’t any rosier as Bayern Munich crashed out in the Champions League Round of 16, with Hummels guilty of a few mistakes himself.

Thus, when the German moved to Dortmund in the summer, many felt that the Bavarians had gotten themselves an extremely shrewd deal, where the money received could be used for the development of the squad.

Hummels, meanwhile, treated the return to the industrial heartland of Germany as a new challenge, a task that could help him remind the world of his quality.

And, it’s fair to say that he strengthened his credentials against Barcelona.

On Tuesday, Hummels was a rock at the back and rarely made a positional error. He was on hand to deal with Luis Suarez’s movements and didn’t allow the Uruguayan a proper sniff at goal.

Additionally, he read Barcelona’s offensive plans like a book, thereby finding himself in the right position at the right time to mop up the danger.

Throughout last season, the major criticism aimed at Hummels dealt with his lack of pace.

However, with Manuel Akanji alongside, the German’s weakness was offset, meaning that he could use his game awareness to stifle Barcelona.

Courtesy the display, Hummels might just have served a timely reminder to the footballing world of what he can still offer.