Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Borussia Monchengladbach: 3 Reasons why the hosts won | Bundesliga 2019/2020

Dortmund got the better of Monchengladbach
Dortmund got the better of Monchengladbach

#1 Borussia Dortmund dig deep into their attacking reserves

Marco Reus popped up with the winner
Marco Reus popped up with the winner

Lucien Favre sprung a surprise with his starting line-up when he named three holding midfielders, namely Axel Witsel, Thomas Delaney and Weigl in his eleven. However, as the match wore on, it became clear that the German was brought in to shore up the centre of defence with Achraf Hakimi being given the nod in an unfamiliar attacking midfield role.

Unsurprisingly, Dortmund failed to flow as much as the home crowd would’ve expected with their tempo being alarmingly slow in the nascent stages of the first half. Yet, towards the latter part of the period, they started clicking into gear and got past Yann Sommer, only for VAR to rule it out.

Thereafter, they kept pushing and probing and were eventually rewarded in the 58th minute when Thorgan Hazard slipped in a sumptuous through-ball for Reus. The Dortmund skipper made no mistake and slotted the ball clinically past the keeper.

For long stretches of the game, the hosts’ attack looked slightly bereft of ideas and lacked the imagination that has become synonymous with them recently.

Yet, when push came to shove at the Signal Iduna Park, they dug deep into their attacking reserves and unfurled a moment of brilliance; one that could play a significant role in the Bundesliga title picture.

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