Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb: Three Takeaways as the Black and Yellows prove they can win on the road | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund traveled to Croatia for a clash with Dynamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League, the fifth matchday. While BVB were the superior team on paper, they entered this match having lost their last six away games, including the collapse at Real Madrid. In addition, Borussia Dortmund can be wildly inconsistent, so anything could have been possible in this match. Yet BVB managed a dominant performance overall, maintaining about 75% of the possession and creating far more chances than their opponents.

I was happy to see Dortmund win this, not simply because it was an away game, but also due to the consistency that the squad, and Nuri Sahin, carried into this match from last weekend. It feels a bit crazy writing: Borussia Dortmund are in fourth place in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League after five matchdays, but they deserve it. Two home wins, two away wins, one loss… at Real Madrid. In all honesty, this match has me excited, so I’ll get right into my biggest takeaways.

Brandt-Sabitzer-Nmecha is the strongest midfield trio at the moment

There are several factors that play into this trio. First, several players have returned from injury, allowing Sahin more choices and tactical versatility. Second, Sahin is choosing to play more of his players in their natural positions. Then there’s the fact Emre Can is suspended two Bundesliga games and is nursing a knock. But most importantly, Felix Nmecha is performing.

Nmecha did little last season to impress, but he’s become more consistent this season, and really stepped up amid the recent injury crisis, earning a recent recall to the German national team, where he scored. Now he’s come back to Dortmund and played impressively as the number eight, which has allowed Julian Brandt to be more creative, and given Marcel Sabitzer space to be more central in the hold-up play, keeping attacks alive in the buildup. Nmecha has also been increasing his progressive passes, and what we’ve seen from two consecutive games, is a Borussia Dortmund side that is controlling possession and pace, a team that is creating chances. Nmecha has the speed in this position to be more effective than either Emre Can or Pascal Groß, should Sahin continue this style of play.

Pascal Groß has proven to be versatile and an incredibly accurate passer, but he’s performed well outside of the midfield too, like he did today as a right back. In other positions, he’s still able to deliver the precise set-pieces like his corner kick assist today. Groß could also be used as a more defensive alternative to Nmecha when needed. It's true Marcel Sabitzer didn't have his strongest performance today, his profile is still most fitting for the style of play Nuri Sahin seems to be implementing right now.

I’m glad to see Gio Reyna back, mostly because he can give Julian Brandt some relief. It’s a long season and we need our obvious number ten to be fit and ready. But there’s another position in which Brandt has been playing, and I suspect he will continue to play unless his knock today is serious. The biggest questions about the midfield is where to put the captain, Emre Can, when he’s both fit and not suspended. My suggestion: the bench. Time will tell what Sahin decides, and the competition could be good for Can. He needs to be better.