Three things we learned as Schalke hold Borussia Dortmund to a draw

In the 100th Revierderby, Borussia Dortmund threw away their lead twice as they drew 2-2 with Schalke, a result that sees them now sit two points behind Bayern Munich in the table. Schalke move off the bottom of the table with a point.

Nico Schlotterbeck opened the scoring with a long range just before half-time. However, just after the break, Marius Bülter equalised from close range. Raphaėl Guerreiro would then give Dortmund the lead before Kenan Karaman equalised again in the 79th minute. 

Borussia Dortmund lacked the creativity of Julian Brandt and Marco Reus

The absence of the injured Julian Brandt and the ill Marco Reus was greatly felt for Dortmund today. They dominated the game possession wise but were unable to do anything with it and struggled to create. There were moments after Guerreiro’s goal where Dortmund were playing fluid football but failed with the end product. In the dying moments, the presence of Brandt or Reus could of made the difference when Schalke decided to shut up shop. 

Schalke showed they have the quality to stay up

The point moves Schalke into 17th but today they showed the quality they possess and need to stay up in the Bundesliga. After a bedding in period and the arrival of Moritz Jenz, Schalke have become defensively sound. Although they conceded twice today, when they went to see out the draw they showed their quality as they kept Dortmund out. A highlight was the block on the shots of Schlotterbeck and Mahmoud Dahoud in quick succession. 

Schalke’s next four games see them face three teams around them in Augsburg, Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin. Their performance today will give them the confidence to win all three of those games. 

Dortmund’s substitutes proved ineffective

Edin Terzic made a mistake with his substitutions. In the 68th minute he subbed off Jamie Bynoe-Gittens for Mahmoud Dahoud. Bynoe-Gittens had just missed a great chance to make it 3-1 and showed he was still making an impact on the game, but when Dahoud came on his impact was minimal. The later moments of the game needed a player more like Bynoe-Gittens than Dahoud. 

The same can be said for Giovanni Reyna and Anthony Modeste. Reyna has struggled since his brief upturn in form at the beginning of the year when normally you could rely on someone like him to turn the game around like he did against Augsburg. While Modeste has struggled for Dortmund for most of the season. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan 



Source link

Related Articles

[td_block_social_counter facebook="tagdiv" twitter="tagdivofficial" youtube="tagdiv" style="style8 td-social-boxed td-social-font-icons" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjM4IiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJwb3J0cmFpdCI6eyJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMzAiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBvcnRyYWl0X21heF93aWR0aCI6MTAxOCwicG9ydHJhaXRfbWluX3dpZHRoIjo3Njh9" custom_title="Stay Connected" block_template_id="td_block_template_8" f_header_font_family="712" f_header_font_transform="uppercase" f_header_font_weight="500" f_header_font_size="17" border_color="#dd3333"]

Latest Articles