Niko Kovac praises Borussia Dortmund squad depth and explains Felix Nmecha benching | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 Bundesliga victory over SC Paderborn offered perhaps the clearest illustration yet of what Niko Kovac means when he speaks about the depth of his squad. Serhou Guirassy did not score. Fábio Silva did. Felix Nmecha started on the bench and eventually finished with two.

None of those facts appeared particularly problematic to Kovac.

“We have so many good players,” the Dortmund head coach told Sky Germany when asked about the developing Guirassy-Silva partnership. “We also need players from the bench. Today, for example, we had Felix [Nmecha] come off the bench due to the many games for both club and country. We have to mix it up.”

Silva supplied the early breakthrough while working alongside Guirassy. The Guinean remained at the center of almost everything Dortmund subsequently created. Then, once Paderborn had spent more than an hour attempting to contain that combination, Nmecha emerged from the bench and settled matters with two entirely different goals.

Silva and Guirassy move beyond either-or question

Dortmund’s use of Silva alongside Guirassy represents an important development in itself. For much of last season, the Portuguese striker’s presence in the starting XI generally meant Guirassy’s absence. GGFN covered Kovac explicitly framing one such selection as a decision in favor of Silva rather than against Guirassy when the two were still largely competing for the same central striking position.

The situation now looks considerably different.

As GGFN noted in Dortmund’s 2026/27 tactical preview, Guirassy remains the clear attacking reference point while Silva’s movement offers Kovac something different. Rather than attempting to reproduce Guirassy’s physical presence as a traditional No. 9, Silva can move around him, attack spaces and operate slightly deeper.

Saturday offered the strongest competitive example yet of the two profiles working together. Silva started underneath and slightly off Guirassy. Dortmund needed only five minutes for the arrangement to produce a goal.

After Dortmund won possession, Guirassy immediately released Silva from inside his own half. The Portuguese attacker profited from a missed intervention at the halfway line, raced toward goal, rounded Nahuel Noll and finished into the empty net.

The sequence also neatly reversed what had happened only four days earlier.

During Dortmund’s 3-2 Champions League win over Villarreal, Silva came off the bench and supplied Guirassy during another productive attacking performance. Against Paderborn, Guirassy returned the favor. The striker did virtually everything apart from score himself.

Guirassy had two first-half goals disallowed for narrow offside decisions, created further shooting opportunities and repeatedly occupied Paderborn’s defensive line. Silva’s movement around him gave Dortmund an additional runner without removing the focal point around whom Kovac’s attack has long been constructed.

Kovac suggested afterward that the possibilities are becoming increasingly difficult to reduce to one formation or one fixed attacking trio.

“Yes, with today’s lineup we literally could have lined up all sorts of ways,” Kovac said at the post-match press conference. “When I look at the attackers and the midfielders, we could line up in all sorts of ways and remain flexible.

“I’ve always said that if the players are willing to work both forward and backward, I’m satisfied,” Kovac continued. “For example, I was pleased about the fact that Carney [Chukwuemeka] was able to play today and work in both attack and defense.”

Nmecha turns rotation into advantage

That flexibility extended well beyond the starting XI. Paderborn remained within one goal until the final ten minutes despite Dortmund gradually taking greater control. Kovac responded by changing almost the entire structure behind Guirassy.

Nmecha, Marcel Sabitzer and Chukwuemeka entered together in the 65th minute for Joey Veerman, Ethan Nwaneri and Silva. Jobe Bellingham subsequently dropped deeper while Nmecha moved into more advanced spaces. Maximilian Beier followed shortly afterward.

The effects were decisive.

Nmecha exchanged passes with Beier in the 80th minute, shifted around his marker inside the penalty area and finished accurately via the inside of the far post for the 2-0. Nine minutes later came the highlight.

Sabitzer crossed from the right and Nmecha, standing centrally inside the area, adjusted brilliantly before sending an overhead kick into the corner.

“I think that was the most beautiful [goal of my career],” Nmecha told Sky Germany afterward. “I knew immediately [that it would go in as soon as I touched the ball].”

Kovac was similarly impressed.

“Yes, it was sensational,” he said. “An overhead kick is an overhead kick. It was an acrobatic [finish] from a very tall player. It’s fine by me to see him do that in a game.”

The brace also carried a useful reminder about Dortmund’s developing hierarchy. Nmecha beginning on the bench did not represent a demotion. The decision was dictated by workload following a demanding summer, international commitments and Dortmund’s increasingly congested schedule.

“We’re always going to have situations like this because we have a lot of games,” Kovac explained. “And we have a lot of national team players. We’ll rotate just like other clubs do. I’ve been working with the medical staff to manage Felix’s minutes and that’s why he came off the bench. I don’t believe that he was angry, because he knew how I had planned things out.”

Nmecha confirmed as much.

“I’m not dissatisfied at all,” Nmecha told Sky. “It was a tough summer and the pre-season wasn’t ideal. It was my first time out of the XI today. I just keep giving it my all in training and I’m always ready to start.”

Dortmund already need their attacking depth

The significance of Dortmund’s options becomes clearer when considering who Kovac currently cannot call upon.

Giannis Konstantelias had appeared ready to become one of Dortmund’s most important flexible attacking pieces after arriving from PAOK during the summer. That option disappeared almost immediately. Konstantelias suffered a major ACL tear in Dortmund’s Bundesliga victory over Hamburg, ruling the 23-year-old out for several months after an encouraging start to his BVB career.

Dortmund then encountered another scare involving Konstantinos Karetsas. The summer signing was forced off with circulatory problems during Tuesday’s Champions League victory over Villarreal and subsequently spent time in hospital.Kovac consequently entered Saturday’s match without two attacking midfielders who had been expected to contribute heavily to the rotation.

Nwaneri was able to make his first Bundesliga start. Silva moved into the XI alongside Guirassy. Chukwuemeka entered from the bench. Sabitzer did the same. Beier entered later. Nmecha ultimately decided the match.

The depth is therefore already serving more than one purpose. It allows Kovac to rotate tired players. It allows Dortmund to absorb injuries. And, increasingly, it allows the coach to alter the nature of his attack without dramatically reducing its quality.

Kovac wants ‘finishers’

Kovac ultimately offered his own term for the players who do not begin matches.

“We need a good, broad, and deep squad,” he said at his post-match press conference. “As one sees, and one saw today, the finishers can come off the bench and steer games in the right direction. And we have a few of those.”

“I have an experienced team, but also a young team that has a lot to learn in a short time,” he said. “It’s imperative that the experienced ones pass on what they have to our young players so that they learn quicker and make faster progress. Hopefully that will be reflected in good results.”

For now, the results speak rather loudly.

“If one only has XI players, it gets difficult over the course of a long season,” Kovac said. “We have many more than XI. I’m very grateful for that and very happy.”

GGFN | Peter Weis