Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Linked with Record-Breaking Transfer to Shanghai SIPG
Jan 4, 2017
LISBON, PORTUGAL - OCTOBER 18: Pierre Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scores a goal against SC Sporting during the UEFA Champions League match between SC Sporting and Borussia Dortmund at Estadio Jose Alvalade on October 18, 2016 in Lisbon, Lisboa. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t ESPN FC), the Chinese Super League outfit would be willing to pay the Gabon international striker a staggering annual salary of €41 million (£35 million) to make the move.
Bleacher Report UK broke down the details reported:
Clubs from Chinese football's top flight have lured some big names already in this window, with Oscar moving to Shanghai SIPG, Carlos Tevez signing for Shanghai Shenhua and Axel Witsel joining Tianjin Quanjian.
Landing Aubameyang would be the biggest coup of all, though, as the 27-year-old is one of the most feared forwards in the world.
Here is a look at what he can offer:
Indeed, the striker previously revealed he had been a target for some of the biggest clubs in European football in an interview with French magazine Onze (h/t Jonathan Smith of ESPN FC), in which he said Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain had been keen to sign him.
That's no surprise, as Aubameyang has thrived with BVB over the last couple of years, evolving from a capricious wide player into one of the most devastating No. 9s in the game.
Per Squawka Football, only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski was more prolific than the Dortmund man last term:
Most Bundesliga goals scored in 2016:
Robert Lewandowski (27) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (23) Anthony Modeste (21) Sandro Wagner (19) pic.twitter.com/gAyIgBzIRQ
While he's composed and clinical in front of goal, Aubameyang is thrilling to watch. His searing pace makes him a threat when games become stretched, while his willingness to run at players has supporters and defenders on edge for different reasons.
Given his age, scoring statistics and profile in world football, any club looking to sign the player would need to part with a sizeable fee. And it looks as though Shanghai SIPG may be willing to test Dortmund's resolve to keep hold of their primary goal-getter.
Brazilian football player Oscar is cheered as he arrives at Shanghai airport on January 2, 2017.
Brazilian midfielder Oscar landed in Shanghai on January 2, 2017 where the 25-year-old was set to smash the Asian transfer record with a reported 63 million
The lure of the Chinese Super League, evidently, is the money on offer to players ready to take the plunge. As sports journalist Kristan Heneage relayed recently, Witsel admitted as much when discussing his move to the division:
The sums mentioned would be enough to make Dortmund consider a sale and for Aubameyang to consider a move, although it would be a surprise to see the striker make the switch.
Previously, the forward has said it is a dream of his to represent Real Madrid after vowing he would do so to his grandfather, per beIN Sports (h/t FourFourTwo). A move to China would surely be a significant hindrance to that transfer ever happening in the future.
If Shanghai SIPG were able to get this one done, it would be the first time a proven world-class talent in the peak years of his career had joined a team in the division. That would unnerve plenty of elite teams across European football; after all, if Aubameyang was to be tempted, why wouldn't anybody else?
2016 was a remarkable year in the 107-year history of Borussia Dortmund , albeit not necessarily for all the right reasons...
How Can Borussia Dortmund Replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang During AFCON?
Dec 30, 2016
Dortmund, Germany 02.11.2016, UEFA Champions League - 2016/17 Season, Group F - Matchday 4, BV Borussia Dortmund - Sporting Lissabon, Adrian Ramos (BVB), Andre Schuerrle (BVB) und Trainer Thomas Tuchel (BVB) (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
The reigning African Footballer of the year, he was never going to miss the tournament hosted by his home country. The 27-year-old has a score to settle in AFCON, as he missed the decisive penalty in a quarter-final shootout defeat to Mali in 2012, when Gabon co-organised the competition with Equatorial Guinea.
As the team captain and, arguably, the biggest star from the African continent in world football, participating in the tournament is a matter of honour for the Borussia Dortmund striker.
Still, his club head coach Thomas Tuchel would likely have preferred Aubameyang did not have to play international football early in 2017. Dortmund's No. 17 is close to being irreplaceable, especially in the sumptuous form he has shown throughout the first half of the season.
Gabon's staff comfort striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (C) as he reacts after missing a penalty shot during the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final football match between Gabon and Mali at the Stade de l'Amitie in Libreville on February 5, 2012. Mali bea
Twenty goals in 22 matches across all competitions, including 16 in only 15 Bundesliga games, speak for themselves. He has been on fire, and it is hard to imagine how the Black and Yellows would be positioned in the league table and in the Champions League had Aubameyang not served as a lifeline over the last few months.
With AFCON beginning on January 14 and the group stage stretching over eight days, the star attacker could return in time for Dortmund's second competitive match of the new year on January 29 at FSV Mainz 05, missing only an away trip to Werder Bremen.
However, seeing as Gabon are grouped with Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau, they have every chance of advancing to the knockout stage, starting on January 28.
As a worst-case scenario for Dortmund, Aubameyang could miss the first three Bundesliga matches and the DFB-Pokal round-of-16 tie with Hertha BSC, scheduled three days after the AFCON final.
Three league matches without Aubameyang does not sound like all that much, but the Black and Yellows have left themselves next to no margin for error in the Bundesliga.
Just sixth in the table, they are already looking at third place as the only realistic target for the second half of the season. Twelve points to Bayern Munich and nine to RB Leipzig seem an insurmountable deficit in light of Dortmund's lack of consistency so far this season.
In surprise teams Hertha, Eintracht Frankfurt and TSG Hoffenheim, the Ruhr side has ample competition for the final direct Champions League spot, especially considering those three teams do not have to worry about navigating a European campaign as well as the Bundesliga.
In that regard, every game Aubameyang misses while on international duty will hurt his club side dearly. It is one more worry for Tuchel, who has seen his squad depleted by injuries and form crises throughout the season so far.
How can he best replace his star striker early in 2017? Here, Bleacher Report takes a closer look at his options.
Adrian Ramos
The easiest solution would be to slot in back-up forward Adrian Ramos for Aubameyang. The Colombian's statistics look unimpressive since he moved to the Westfalenstadion in 2014, with 19 goals in 79 appearances across competitions.
However, a deeper analysis reveals those numbers do not do him justice. For starters, he is one of the most-used substitutes for Dortmund, making a whopping 51 of his appearances off the bench.
In terms of his playing time in minutes spent on the pitch, the 30-year-old has played roughly one Bundesliga season's worth of games for the club, making his scoring statistics look far more favourable. Additionally, Ramos is often relegated to a role on the wing due to the imposing presence of Aubameyang in the middle.
When playing as a true No. 9 under Tuchel, Ramos has produced fairly well, scoring 12 and assisting another five goals in just over 20 matches' worth of playing time—contributing to a goal roughly every 110 minutes.
When used as a striker, Ramos has been more than solid for Dortmund under Tuchel.
Extrapolate those numbers over the course of a full Bundesliga season, and he would end up with a combined 27 goals and assists, more than solid numbers even for a Dortmund striker.
Of course, one has to take into account that Ramos does some of his damage against tiring defenders late in games, or when those matches are already won for his side, but his scoring statistics are good for a back-up striker.
Obviously, he is nowhere near as good as Aubameyang, but he is good enough to be trusted in the Gabonese's absence.
However, Ramos might not be at the club by the time AFCON kicks off. Rumours about a switch to the Chinese Super League have persisted for the better part of a year now, with German tabloid Bild (link in German) reporting on Tuesday that Beijing Guoan are interested in his services.
It would not be too surprising to see Ramos, who will turn 31 on January 22, push for a move to China, seeing as it would likely be the last big-money contract of his career. He is no Carlos Tevez, but Bild reported he could still double his wages to a whopping €6 million per year with a transfer.
Of course, Dortmund could deny him a move for the time being, with Aubameyang away on international duty and no other natural striker in the squad, but keeping a potentially disgruntled player who seems to need confidence to function more than others may not be the best strategy.
A January Signing
Tuchel publicly denied having any transfer wishes for the January window in a press conference ahead of a Bundesliga match against FC Augsburg, per local paper Ruhr Nachrichten on Twitter (link in German).
Chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke ruled out new signings in an interview with local radio station Radio 91.2 (link in German) earlier in December, too.
Still, if the club were to jump on an offer for Ramos in January, there would be a distinct need and the necessary funds for a replacement.
Dortmund's Polish defender Lukasz Piszczek (L) vies for the ball with Krasnodar's forward Fedor Smolov during the UEFA Europa League group C football match between FC Krasnodar and Borussia Dortmund in Krasnodar on November 26, 2015. AFP PHOTO / KIRILL KU
Links with FC Krasnodar's Fedor Smolov have quietened down considerably of late, but, as this writer detailed in an earlier piece, he could be an intriguing fit for Dortmund.
The 26-year-old offers a good mixture of technical and physical qualities and could play with Aubameyang, something that never quite worked out too well with Ramos. Tuchel has mostly unsuccessfully tried to play both of his strikers together, with the Colombian more of a target man allowing the Gabonese more freedom.
If not Smolov, Dortmund would likely have another option in mind in case they sell Ramos. Whether he could start right away would be another story, of course.
Andre Schurrle
Should Ramos be sold or Tuchel not wish to start the 30-year-old for whatever reason, Dortmund could also move an attacking midfielder or winger to the position up front.
Marco Reus, Emre Mor, Mario Gotze and Ousmane Dembele all have some level of experience playing at the top of the formation, even though Tuchel has been reluctant to experiment with a false nine; thanks to the imperious form of Aubameyang in the 18 months the head coach has spent at the Westfalenstadion, he did not need to, either.
The best fit of a non-natural striker playing up front, however, would be Andre Schurrle. The 26-year-old is more physical than his aforementioned team-mates and could conceivably hold up against central defenders.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner came up as a forward in Mainz's academy, where he was Tuchel's captain in the under-19 team. He has some experience playing in central attacking roles from his days with Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen—where he often played as a secondary striker—and even played some matches up front for Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.
His best performances during a disappointing 18-month spell with VfL Wolfsburg came as a striker, too. Schurrle scored only 13 and assisted a further 10 goals in 63 matches across all competitions for the Wolves, but six goals and two assists came in only 10 matches up front.
MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 07: Andre Schuerrle of Borussia Dortmund in action during the UEFA Champions League match between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund at Bernabeu on December 7, 2016 in Madrid. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
As an ancillary effect, using the 26-year-old in that role would make it easier to understand just why Dortmund felt the need to pay a club-record €30 million for his services, seeing as he always seemed more of a luxury transfer for the left-winger position.
Playing a non-traditional player such as Schurrle up front would allow the team a lot of fluidity in their attacking play, as he and wingers Reus and Dembele would form an unpredictable attacking trident.
Schurrle is a strong finisher and, while not quite as lightning-fast as Aubameyang, quicker than most defenders, allowing him to do some of the things the Gabonese does for Dortmund.
All in all, Tuchel has enough options at his disposal that Aubameyang's international duty will not serve as an excuse for any mishaps to start 2017. Whether it is Ramos, Schurrle or an unidentified new signing, Dortmund should be able to absorb the hit even if Gabon make a deep run at AFCON.
The end of 2016 is upon us. What better time could there be to reflect on the past 12 months? For Borussia Dortmund , it was a difficult year...
How Borussia Dortmund Should Have Spent Their 2016 Summer Transfer Window Money
Dec 27, 2016
Hannover's goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler passes Dortmund's players who celebrate their opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Hannover 96 in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
One of the many perks the winter break, a month-long hiatus from competitive football, offers German clubs is the opportunity to self-evaluate processes and decisions.
Of course, this is mostly an internal procedure and thus closed to the public, unless the results of this assessment make a drastic move inevitable, be it a coaching change or the instalment of a new sporting director.
For Borussia Dortmund, the self-evaluation between the end of the first half of the season and the start of the preparations for the rest of the campaign will not call for such poignant decisions. The Black and Yellows return to the training pitch on January 3 and begin their training camp in Marbella, Spain, two days later, per the club's official website.
Still, the club's decision-makers will assess the first months of the season and not be overly impressed with the team's performances. More than anything, a lack of consistency has haunted the Ruhr side, not least because myriad injuries has taken its toll.
Dortmund's Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan (L) and Dortmund's midfielder Ilkay Guendogan celebrate the third goal during the German first division football Bundesliga match Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Borussia Dortmund in Moenchengladbach, western
The root cause for most of Dortmund's problems, however, can probably be located in the summer transfer window, when the club faced the impossible situation of having to replace three of the team's best and most important players in Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
At the time, the Black and Yellows were widely praised for their reaction to those losses, with Squawka.com going as far as calling them "the undisputed kings of the transfer market."
Dortmund's summer acquisitions held up reasonably well when Bleacher Report graded their performances through the first half of the season, but few would argue that the club could have done even better in the summer.
Their failure to sign a true replacement for Gundogan was noted as a glaring omission by this writer in September, while the last months have shown Dortmund could also have used a new back-up goalkeeper and another centre-back.
Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but chances are the Ruhr side would have played a stronger first half of the season had they not left themselves vulnerable in those three spots.
With that in mind, here, B/R takes a look at how Dortmund should have spent their money in the summer.
We will look only at players who moved clubs in the transfer window and only consider transfers that would have seemed realistic at the time—no cheating with Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free!
Budget
Dortmund spent €109.75 million on transfers in the summer, and to a large degree, that was money well spent. Marc Bartra, Ousmane Dembele, Raphael Guerreiro, Mario Gotze and Emre Mor were good signings for a combined sum of €64 million.
However, their three other signings, Mikel Merino, Sebastian Rode and Andre Schurrle, have so far not paid dividends.
Merino has only played in three matches. Rode looks a rare bad signing, as this writer detailed in an earlier piece, and does not seem to have a natural position within Dortmund's system.
Schurrle, while he has played OK, was too expensive as the club's record signing and always seemed more of a luxury transfer who would not improve Dortmund's starting XI if everyone was available for any given match.
We would argue the €45.75 million Dortmund invested in these three players could have been spent more intelligently in the following positions and on the players mentioned.
Dortmund did not identify their second goalkeeper behind regular starter Roman Burki a position of need in the summer, never once being linked in earnest with a new signing for the spot between the sticks.
Thirty-six-year-old veteran Roman Weidenfeller, however, has shown his age since Burki broke his hand against Bayern Munich. Dortmund's long-term No. 1 played well against Real Madrid in the Champions League and won his side a penalty shootout against Union Berlin in the DFB-Pokal earlier in the season, but Father Time has caught up to him, and he has become a liability.
Ron-Robert Zieler would have made for a strong back-up for Roman Burki.
While it is unfair to pin it all on the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner, the fact is he has conceded a whopping 13 goals in seven matches since covering for the injured Burki, failing to keep a single clean sheet while Dortmund won only twice.
With the benefit of hindsight, the club's decision-makers would probably have made an effort to sign a new back-up for the Switzerland international in the summer.
A number of interesting 'keepers switched clubs during the transfer window, but no one presented better value than Ron-Robert Zieler.
The 27-year-old joined Premier League champions Leicester City for €3.5 million thanks to a release clause activated after Hannover 96 were relegated from the Bundesliga, per Michael Richter of German sports magazine Kicker (link in German).
A Germany international with vast experience in the Bundesliga and strong with the ball at his feet, Zieler would have been an ideal fit for Thomas Tuchel's preferred playing style and a real bargain of a transfer.
One of the underrated 'keepers in the German top flight for years, he would arguably have had a better chance of unseating Burki as the first choice at the Westfalenstadion than winning the job in the Foxes' goal from Kasper Schmeichel.
Centre-Back: Aleksandar Dragovic, €18 million
Hummels' departure to Bayern Munich hurt in more ways than one. The fact that the team captain jumped ship to join the biggest domestic rival once again put Dortmund in their place, but he was also difficult to replace on the field.
One of if not the best buildup player from the centre-back position in the world, Hummels' passing qualities were a huge part of Tuchel's system. Finding someone to replicate that and become a leader in Dortmund's defence was impossible.
The Ruhr side identified Bartra as a possible replacement for his on-the-ball qualities and, before he lost his form from October onwards, the Catalan looked promising in the buildup phase. However, he does not have the gravitas and does not exude the confidence of Hummels.
Dortmund tried to sign another centre-back, reportedly agreeing terms with Bayer Leverkusen's Omer Toprak but failing to find a common ground on a fee with the Rhinelanders, per local paper Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger (link in German).
Per a report from German tabloid Sport Bild (link in German), Turkey international Toprak will join Dortmund next summer, when he can activate a release clause valued at €12 million.
However, the last months have shown the Black and Yellows could well use another centre-back right now and not just next season. Oddly enough, the player who would have fit the club's usual transfer profile best is the one who will take Toprak's place at Leverkusen, Austrian defender Aleksandar Dragovic.
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 07: Sleksandar Dragovic of Leverkusen in action during the UEFA Champions League match between Bayer Leverkusen and AS Monaco at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany on December 7, 2016. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
He joined Leverkusen from Dynamo Kiev after being linked with Dortmund for a while, for example by Jurgen Koers of local paper Ruhr Nachrichten in May (link in German).
The 25-year-old would have offered the Black and Yellows an intriguing blend of potential growth and impressive experience at a young age for a central defender, having won over 50 caps for Austria and having played in 70 games across various UEFA competitions for Kiev and former clubs Austria Wien and FC Basel ahead of his move to Germany in the summer.
Strong with both feet, good in the air and German-speaking, Dragovic would likely not have had as many problems getting acclimated to the Bundesliga as Bartra, who struggles with "an adjustment process that takes time," as Tuchel said in a press conference earlier in December.
Central Midfielder: Piotr Zielinski, €14 million
Easily the most glaring need in the entire squad, it is hard to comprehend how Dortmund could go into the season without replacing Gundogan with a new natural central midfielder.
His many responsibilities have fallen to Gotze, Guerreiro and Gonzalo Castro, all of whom do not possess the same strategical qualities as the Manchester City midfielder. Gotze and Castro are better when used in a role higher up the pitch, while Guerreiro has done well in the precious few matches he played in the centre.
The Euro 2016 winner has missed half of Dortmund's games through somewhat mysterious muscle ailments, however.
With Rode incapable of helping the team out on the ball—his risk-averse, ultra-conservative passing made him the butt of many jokes on social media platforms after only a few appearances for the Westfalenstadion club—it is clear the Black and Yellows need another creative force in the middle of the park.
RB Salzburg's Naby Keita would have been an awesome fit for Dortmund, but it stands to reason to think he was not on the open market, as he moved to RB Leipzig, or from one Red Bull affiliate to the other.
We thought long and hard about Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who combines passing qualities with a strong physicality and picked up valuable Bundesliga experience at Bayern Munich and on loan for FC Schalke 04 before moving to Southampton in the summer. However, he is more of a box-to-box midfielder, and we were looking for a genuine playmaker.
Napoli's midfielder from Poland Piotr Zielinski eyes the ball during the UEFA Champions League football match Napoli vs Dynamo Kiev on November 23, 2016 at the San Paolo stadium in Naples. The match ended on 0 - 0 draw. / AFP / Carlo Hermann (Photo
Piotr Zielinski would have been a strong fit for Dortmund. They were tentatively linked with the Poland international before he moved to SSC Napoli in the summer, per Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia).
B/R's Blair Newman offered a scouting report on the 22-year-old, calling Zielinski "a dynamic central midfielder with a relentless streak," who "is also a highly intelligent player on the ball."
"He shows both good awareness of his own positioning and of how to manipulate the space around him, traits which—along with his pace and directness—make him an effective dribbler," Newman continued.
With Dortmund at times struggling to move the ball into the final third with any kind of conviction or rhythm, having a strong dribbler in the middle of the park would be of tremendous help.
Zielinski is also a creative passer who uses his technique and ingenuity, as in the video below, where he put the ball on a silver platter for Marek Hamsik against Inter Milan:
Despite his relatively slight build, the Pole is also a dedicated runner and defender, contributing in Maurizio Sarri's high-intensity system at the Stadio San Paolo.
An all-action midfielder available for a bargain €14 million, Zielinski and Guerreiro could have compensated for the departure of Gundogan as a tandem, freeing up Gotze to have more of an attacking role.
Bottom Line
In Zieler, Dragovic and Zielinski, Dortmund could have had three players to fill their problem spots for relative bargains. They cost their new clubs a combined €35.5 million in the summer, meaning we stayed well below our own budget—allowing us to keep Merino after all or investing in another position.
With the €10 million left in our budget, Dortmund could, for example, have added Timo Werner as a young back-up striker to groom behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, or Serge Gnabry, one of the Bundesliga's best players of the first half of the season, for the left wing vacated by leaving out Schurrle.
Hindsight is 20/20, but do you think our proposed transfer window would have been better than Dortmund's? Leave your thoughts in the comments or on social media.
As German football embarks on its month-long break in action known as "Winterpause," there is no better time to evaluate the performances of Borussia Dortmund during the first half of the 2016/17 season...
A Christmas Wish List for Borussia Dortmund Head Coach Thomas Tuchel
Dec 23, 2016
MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 07: Coach Thomas Tuchel of Borussia Dortmund protests to the referee during the UEFA Champions League group F match between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 7, 2016 in Madrid, . (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
A look at the calendar suggests 'tis is the season to be jolly, even though fans, officials and players of Borussia Dortmund may find that more difficult this year.
The club's up-and-down first half of the season culminated in a series of somewhat disappointing draws that have the club spending the month-long winter break in sixth place in the Bundesliga.
The Black and Yellows may only be four points behind Hertha BSC in third place, which should represent the goal for the rest of the campaign, but they still cannot be overly happy with the way they limped to the finish line of 2016.
That said, there is no better time to be hopeful of things getting better in the future than Christmas. The club is getting into the spirit, as evidenced by this seasonal social media video:
🎄 Wir wünschen Euch fröhliche, schwarzgelbe Weihnachten! // We wish you a very merry, black-and-yellow Christmas! pic.twitter.com/FuFVHpYP9x
With the holidays right around the corner, Bleacher Report decided to take a look at what Dortmund's head coach Thomas Tuchel may have put on his Christmas wish list this year.
An injury-free 2017
Tuchel is going through a bit of a rough time at the moment. After an impressive first campaign following in the gigantic footsteps of Jurgen Klopp, there seems to be a spanner in the works this season.
Results in the Bundesliga are not up to the high standards the 43-year-old set last season—even though a win over Werder Bremen in January would give them 30 points for the first half of the season, a tally Klopp only beat three times during his seven years at the Westfalenstadion.
The biggest reason for the discrepancy between the 2015/16 campaign and the current season lies in the summer, when Tuchel lost three of his best and most important players in captain Mats Hummels, midfield genius Ilkay Gundogan and player of the season Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
In hindsight, the public probably underestimated the impact of those key departures. Tuchel would always need time to form the next great BVB team, especially given most of the eight signings in the summer were inexperienced players with vast untapped potential.
However, the transfer window in the summer is not the only reason for Dortmund's fickleness this season. Much unlike during the last campaign, Tuchel has had to make countless changes to his squad due to injuries.
Per Fussballverletzungen.com, a blog dedicated to statistical analysis of injuries in the Bundesliga, Dortmund have had the second-most sick days per player in the division since the start of the campaign:
Tuchel has been heavily criticised for his tinkerman approach this season, as this writer detailed in an earlier piece, but the truth is, he often did not have any other choice but to rotate players in and out of his starting XIs.
If Dortmund are to play a more consistent second half of the season from January on, they will need to have better luck with injuries to key players.
Between first-choice goalkeeper Roman Burki, defensive leader Sokratis Papastathopoulos, team captain Marcel Schmelzer, midfielders Raphael Guerreiro and Mario Gotze and attackers Marco Reus and Andre Schurrle, many of the team's best and most important players missed at least a few games throughout the last months.
Should they be available on a more consistent basis in 2017, Dortmund should look much more solid, and Tuchel will have a better opportunity to find his best team and stick with it.
A natural central midfielder
The club received a lot of praise for the way they reacted to the losses of Hummels, Gundogan and Mkhitaryan in the summer, and rightfully so. The Ruhr side arguably made the best of a difficult situation.
However, one position they largely ignored came back to haunt them throughout the first months of the season. This writer graded Dortmund's summer window at B+ but noted "Dortmund didn't properly replace Gundogan and could suffer from the lack of a creative central midfielder."
DORTMUND, GERMANY - MARCH 05: Ilkay Guendogan of Borussia Dortmund looks on during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Signal Iduna Park on March 5, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.bs (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images)
Indeed, this has turned into an Achilles' heel for Dortmund, who too often have looked predictable in the buildup phase without a strategical mastermind such as Gundogan taking control in the middle of the park.
Gotze has done admirable work, especially towards the end of the year, but mostly in the defensive aspects of the position. He is not a natural central midfielder, and his attacking output suffers when he has to play a deeper role.
Guerreiro has impressed in central midfield with three goals and four assists but only played the role in five matches, per Transfermarkt.com.
Relying on the 23-year-old to become a full-time starter at the position is a dangerous proposition, given he was signed as a left-back from FC Lorient and has missed 12 of Dortmund's 25 matches across competitions with somewhat mysterious muscle issues.
It seems rather obvious that the Black and Yellows need another central midfielder in the squad, even though it is difficult to find a good deal in the January window.
Dortmund have often avoided the inflated market during the season, with the €12 million signing of Kevin Kampl in 2015 serving as a cautionary tale. The Slovenian failed to make any impact at the Westfalenstadion and was sold to Bayer Leverkusen after half a season.
That said, the Black and Yellows should still try to find a potential difference-maker in central midfield as early as January, be it Borussia Monchengladbach's Mahmoud Dahoud, as this writer suggested in November, or someone else.
Tuchel publicly denied having any transfer wishes for the January window in a press conference ahead of a Bundesliga match against FC Augsburg, per local paper Ruhr Nachrichten on Twitter (link in German), but it would not be too far-fetched to think the club could be working on a signing behind the scenes.
The need for a true central midfielder is too big to be overlooked.
Clarity about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
With news coming down that Real Madrid's transfer ban has been reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to only include the coming January window, per Rhys Turrell of the Daily Star, it was only a matter of time before the next batch of rumours linking Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the club will be ready.
Those links will never die down until the Gabon international makes clear what he intends to do in the next summer. His wish to play for Los Blancos at some point is well-documented, with his mother Margarita Crespo reiterating it to Spanish sport paper AS (h/t Anthony Chapman of TheSun) earlier this month.
"He promised his grandfather that he would play for Real Madrid and since he was a little boy he spoke about Madrid and never about Barcelona," she said.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Dortmund celebrateS with coach Thomas Tuchel (L) his goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Hamburg SV and BVB Borussia Dortmund in Hamburg, northern Germany, on November 5, 2016. / AFP / CA
Seeing as Dortmund's star striker will be 28 by the time the summer transfer window opens, a deal in 2017 would not be too surprising. It could be a now-or-never situation for Aubameyang.
The Black and Yellows have so far not suffered from the near-constant speculation surrounding their best attacker, but chances are, at some point it will be a distraction. Everyone would be best-served if Aubameyang made his wishes clear as soon as possible.
Tuchel will have to make do without the 27-year-old to start the second half of the season due to the Africa Cup of Nations in his home country Gabon anyway, as Aubameyang could miss up to three matches.
It would be best if Dortmund's boss knew whether it was a first taste of life without the star striker or merely a short time of waiting.
Augsburg Draw Perfectly Encapsulates Borussia Dortmund's 1st Half of Season
Dec 21, 2016
Augsburg's Dutch defender Paul Verhaegh and Dortmund's Spanish defender Marc Bartra vie for the ball during the German First division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg, in Dortmund, western Germany, on December 20, 2016. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MATCH TIME: DFL RULES TO LIMIT THE ONLINE USAGE TO 15 PICTURES PER MATCH AND FORBID IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT DFL DIRECTLY AT + 49 69 650050
(Photo credit should read PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Borussia Dortmund closed out 2016 with another disappointing match on Tuesday, drawing 1-1 with FC Augsburg in front of their own fans.
It was the fourth draw in a row across all competitions and the third in the Bundesliga, where the Black and Yellows will now likely spend the winter break outside of the Champions League spots.
If 90 minutes can ever be enough to represent half a year's worth of Bundesliga football for the Ruhr side, Tuesday's match did just that. The game against Augsburg offered a microcosm of what has been a rather disappointing first half of the domestic campaign for Dortmund.
The greater issues that have kept head coach Thomas Tuchel busy over the first months of the season were all present against the Swabians, as the 43-year-old admitted in his post-match press conference: "Today's match epitomises the first half of the season."
Dortmund's head coach Thomas Tuchel reacts after the German First division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg, in Dortmund, western Germany, on December 20, 2016. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MATCH TIME:
It starts with a selection dilemma following the latest injury crisis. Without defensive leader Sokratis Papastathopoulos and starting right-back Lukasz Piszczek, Tuchel was again forced to change his back line.
Sven Bender only returned from a lengthy absence himself on the previous matchday and was thus not an option to start again, with Tuchel saying including him in the starting XI "would have been completely irresponsible."
It left an inexperienced back three of Matthias Ginter, Marc Bartra and Mikel Merino, who made only his second start for Dortmund. Summer signing Bartra was tasked with being the middle man, usually the spot for the leader of the back line, who organises things and provides an anchor for the other centre-backs to hang on to when the going gets tough.
Unfortunately, the Catalan was overwhelmed by the responsibility and played arguably his worst match of the season. ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko rated his performance at three out of 10, and one could argue that was generous. As the Dortmund-based writer noted, Bartra "cleared the ball almost as often to the opponent as he did to his own players."
Tuchel realised he had asked too much of his 25-year-old signing from FC Barcelona after the match. "He is not used to the intensity of the training and the matches in the Bundesliga," the Dortmund boss said. "It's an adjustment process that takes time."
"We need to acknowledge that he is not used to playing every three days and carrying absolute responsibility for the game," he concluded.
The fact he brought on Bender for Bartra at half-time spoke volumes in itself, but the damage was already done. With one of his many nervy attempts to create some forward momentum, Bartra had telegraphed a pass towards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that was easily intercepted.
Centre-back Martin Hinteregger rumbled forward for Augsburg, receiving escort from four or five Dortmund players who failed to put in a challenge or commit a foul to stop the transitional move. Merino took the ball from the Austrian defender, but it spilled towards Jan Moravek.
(L to R) Augsburg's South Korean forward Dong-Won Ji, Augsburg's Austrian midfielder Georg Teigl and Augsburg's Czech midfielder Jan Moravek celebrate after Moravek scored during the German First division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmun
The midfielder played a simple pass to former BVB flop Dong-Won Ji, who scored with his second attempt after Roman Weidenfeller could barely deal with his first.
Inexplicably, Ginter had failed to cover Ji's run and arrived late at the scene, while Bartra tried to play the South Korean offside instead of covering the passing lane.
It was a chaotic mess and another absurdly cheap goal Dortmund have given away against far too many teams in the first half of the season.
It was the seventh time in a row they had gone behind to start the game, too, a fact that was not lost on Tuchel. "The reactions are great every time," he said, referencing his side's comeback qualities, "but we could do with taking the lead from time to time or winning a match 1-0."
Having kept just three clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season, that remains a pious hope for Tuchel. The maddening thing about that, though, is that one of the clean sheets came against Bayern Munich, indicating they can shut down even the best opponents on a good day.
Their defensive frailties have been a recurring theme over the last months, but they are not the only issues for Dortmund, far from it.
On Tuesday, they also lacked precision going forward, as it was again obvious they need a natural central midfielder to structure the team's attacking moves and take control in the buildup phase.
Mario Gotze did admirable work, but he does not possess the most strategic of football minds and still has some work to do to be in optimal shape. Buczko wrote: "Gotze is on track to become an unsung hero for the Black and Yellows, although expectations dictate different output up front."
Shinji Kagawa had a forgettable match next to the 2014 World Cup winner, providing the assist for the equaliser and little else in what could well be a farewell performance at the Westfalenstadion, with the transfer window looming large for the Japanese playmaker, who has fallen out of favour with Tuchel.
Dortmund's French midfielder Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring during the German First division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg, in Dortmund, western Germany, on December 20, 2016. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ / RESTRICTIO
The team's only consistent source of danger comes through Ousmane Dembele, who has been Dortmund's best player towards the end of the calendar year. Buczko argued "the Black and Yellows are starting to become overly reliant on the skills of the 19-year-old," and he has a point.
The Frenchman often has to start his runs in deep midfield zones, meaning he has a lot of ground to cover to get into the dangerous spots on the field. That he manages to get there more often than not is testament to his astounding qualities as a dribbler and improved decision-making. It is not, however, a formula for success for the entire team.
It was only natural that he scored the equaliser with a smooth piece of skill, receiving the ball on his right and slotting it past Marwin Hitz with his left foot in one fluid move.
That goal came in the 47th minute and heralded the best phase of the match for Dortmund, but they rarely came close to a winner and ultimately failed to dominate a tiring opponent who clearly struggled due to not being used to playing midweek matches.
Of course, things may well have changed had Dortmund not been denied a fourth blatant penalty in as many Bundesliga matches. Paul Verhaegh clearly fouled Kagawa around the hour mark, with referee Guido Winkmann in perfect position but waving play on.
While it is always a bit cheap to point at refereeing decisions as an excuse for a team's shortcomings, it is no stretch to say that Dortmund have been on the short end of calls for much of the first half of the season, exacerbating their other issues even further.
Dortmund's Spanish midfielder Merino Mikel reacts during the German First division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Augsburg, in Dortmund, western Germany, on December 20, 2016. / AFP / PATRIK STOLLARZ / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MAT
Ultimately, though, they have no one to blame for their disappointing first months of the season than themselves.
Regardless of their personnel situation, refereeing decisions and other circumstances, a squad of Dortmund's quality has to be expected to win more than seven of 16 Bundesliga matches to this point.
The championship has been out of sight for weeks, and it is only by luck that no one has emerged as the clear-cut third-best team in the division to this point.
The Black and Yellows will have every opportunity to qualify for the Champions League over the second half of the season, but, given their level of play since the summer, no one should take that as a fait accompli.
Ranking the Top 5 Goals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's Borussia Dortmund Career
Dec 19, 2016
MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 07: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after the final whistle during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabeu on December 7, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
Almost lost in the shuffle of Borussia Dortmund's hectic 2-2 draw with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Friday was a major individual milestone for one of the team's most consistent players of the last few years.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his 100th goal for the club, an impressive achievement considering he has done it in only 164 matches across all competitions since moving to the Ruhr valley from French side AS Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2013.
As a comparison, the great Robert Lewandowski scored a grand total of 103 goals for Dortmund but played in 187 matches for the Black and Yellows. The Pole scored roughly every 140 minutes of play, whereas the Gabon international needs only about 122 minutes per goal.
Bleacher Report discussed Aubameyang's place among Dortmund's all-time greats at the striker position in an earlier piece. That he gets mentioned in that elite group of players is largely down to his explosion under head coach Thomas Tuchel. Aubameyang has scored 59 of his 100 goals in the one-and-a-half years under the 43-year-old.
His evolution from winger to central striker already started towards the end of Jurgen Klopp's tenure at the Westfalenstadion, but it was only under Tuchel that the 27-year-old turned into one of the deadliest strikers on the planet.
Ted Knutson highlighted the changes in the Gabonese's play for StatsBomb.com and, if one were to break it down to one key factor, that would be shot locations. Aubameyang has scored all but a handful of his 59 goals across all competitions over the last 18 months from inside the penalty box, as he is getting on the end of attacking moves, often allowing him to finish with only one or two contacts.
He makes scoring look easy because, at times, it really is. However, he is more than a poacher and is perfectly capable of creating goals for himself, both with his devilish pace and with a strong sense of time and space on the pitch.
To celebrate his 100th goal for the club, B/R ranks his top five goals for Dortmund.
A goal that showcased how dangerous a player he is even when deployed on the wing, Aubameyang used his freakish athleticism for this strike in the Champions League against Napoli.
Catching up with Lewandowski in a transitional attack, the Gabon international left his marker in the dust. Centre-back Raul Albiol had the impossible decision to either leave Lewandowski with a fairly open run on goal or to cover the passing lane towards Aubameyang.
The Spaniard chose the former, allowing Lewandowski to play a simple ball to his right. Aubameyang still had a lot to do against Pepe Reina, who came rushing out of his goal to tighten the angle on the finish.
Using a lobbed shot that would become a bit of a trademark for Aubameyang, he beat the experienced goalkeeper to seal a 3-1 win for Dortmund.
Aubameyang's 10th goal for the club, his direct free-kick against Mainz gave Dortmund the lead in a Bundesliga match that, on the balance of play, the underdogs had dominated to that point.
Fans probably remember the game better for the three penalties—Lewandowski scored two for the Black and Yellows—that followed Aubameyang's opener, but his incredible hit from distance deserved recognition.
He used the perfect technique to give the ball enough wobble to float past Loris Karius in Mainz's goal, hitting it with the side of his boot. That it still had enough pace to find the net shows just how nicely Aubameyang hit the sweet spot.
He has been chasing his second free-kick goal ever since, trying and failing with the same technique, which shows just how special it was.
Dortmund fans wish they could forget what happened at Anfield on April 14, as the stunning collapse against Liverpool in the Europa League will forever be remembered as one of the most disappointing nights in club history.
It all started so well for the Black and Yellows, who took what should have been a commanding two-goal lead thanks to a thump from Aubameyang after just nine minutes.
Stealing away from Mamadou Sakho with an evading movement to the right flank, Dortmund's No. 17 sprinted into the box like a falcon swooping on its prey. Hammering his shot home with authority, Aubameyang again proved he can be an absolute force of nature.
Aubameyang scored three of Dortmund's five goals as they made light work of Spurs in the round of 16 in the Europa League last season, but his incredible effort from distance in the return leg at White Hart Lane clearly stands above the rest.
There seemed to be nothing in it when he picked up a loose ball some 25 yards from goal. However, a striker such as Aubameyang has a natural feel for every situation in the general vicinity of the opponent's goal and, here, he must have caught a glimpse of Hugo Lloris standing a few inches too far from his line.
Aubameyang took a quick glance, sized up his shot and let fly. Hitting it with excellent swerve and enough power, he left Lloris no chance and scored an absolute beauty, arguably his prettiest goal from distance.
It was a bittersweet goal for the Gabonese. Via Instagram, he dedicated his double on the night to his grandfather, who had died in the same week.
As mentioned above, lobbing the keeper has become a trademark finish for Aubameyang, so it is only natural that his best goal for Dortmund came on such an occasion.
His goal against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga last season perfectly illustrated how the Gabonese had developed into one of world football's deadliest attackers under Tuchel.
Sven Bender drove a ball through the lines into Gonzalo Castro, who had the presence of mind and technical abilities to flick it towards his striker with his heel. As so often happens, Aubameyang was played into a perfect position by his team-mates, but he was still left with a difficult finish.
He kept his composure, let goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton go to the ground and, with the softest of touches, caressed the ball over the line.
He scored more important goals than the one that doubled the lead in a 4-1 win over a team that would be relegated at the end of the campaign—after all, 28 of his 100 strikes for Dortmund were winning goals—but none was prettier than this one.
It showed his shooting technique and, more importantly, his everlasting confidence in front of the goal.
Aubameyang has a swagger about him, and it is that lightness to his game that has not only made him one of the best strikers on the planet, but also a fan favourite—even far beyond the Westfalenstadion faithful.
He is a genuine superstar, and now he's on to the next 100 goals.
Ousmane Dembele Electric as Borussia Dortmund Overcome Controversy at Hoffenheim
Dec 17, 2016
Dortmund's midfielder Mario Goetze (L) celebrates scoring the 1-1 with Dortmund's French midfielder Ousmane Dembele during the German first division Bundesliga football match between TSG Hoffenheim and BVB Borussia Dortmund at the Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena in Sinsheim, southern Germany, on December 16, 2016. / AFP / Daniel ROLAND / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MATCH TIME: DFL RULES TO LIMIT THE ONLINE USAGE TO 15 PICTURES PER MATCH AND FORBID IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT DFL DIRECTLY AT + 49 69 650050
(Photo credit should read DANIEL ROLAND/AFP/Getty Images)
For the third time in nine days, Borussia Dortmund proved their mental resilience on the road, once again coming from behind to earn a vital point against 1899 Hoffenheim on Friday in the Bundesliga.
Unlike the late 1-1 draw with Cologne on the previous matchday, the 2-2 result against the south-west Germans will feel like a victory for the Black and Yellows. Everything that could have gone against them did go against them.
It started with a number of key injuries, as Dortmund were without 10 men, including regular starters Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lukasz Piszczek and Gonzalo Castro.
It continued with another blunder from backup goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller less than three minutes into the game and ended with a few incredible refereeing mistakes that could easily have cost them the match.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel was proud of his team in his post-game press conference: "The reaction that we subsequently showed to all those things that were going against us was, I think, extraordinary. I feel that given the unlucky way in which the match developed for us, we deserved to take a point home."
While the entire team put in a fantastic effort to fight against the odds, the man who deserves the most credit for Dortmund's latest comeback is Ousmane Dembele.
The 19-year-old was simply electric, his dashing runs time and time again causing confusion in a Hoffenheim defence that had been quite sturdy in recent weeks. The hosts had no legal answer to Dembele's excellence on Friday.
The Frenchman was only fouled four times during his 69 minutes on the pitch, per sport magazine Kicker (link in German), but that number is misleading and speaks volumes about the way referee Benjamin Brandt failed to protect Dembele.
He had to be taken off with heavy bruising, per the club's official website, after a number of crushing collisions that did not even yield free-kicks for Dortmund. Tuchel correctly pointed out that his substitution "was a real disadvantage" for his side, as "the tiring opposition would not have been able to deal with his turns."
Given the way he had punished Hoffenheim throughout the game to that point, it is no stretch to assume Dembele could have made the difference and perhaps provided a winning goal for the Black and Yellows.
Bagging two assists—one with determination and the vision to find Mario Gotze in space, one with a perfect pass to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang—Dembele was "breathtaking," as ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko put it, rating the 19-year-old's performance at nine out of 10.
The vine below shows the quality of his second assist early in the second half:
Notice whose run (top of screen) made room for and kept Aubameyang onside... yep, @cpulisic_10. Not sayin just sayin https://t.co/kDDy2zVH5v
It was the kind of match that made this writer think Dembele could win the Ballon d'Or some day, as detailed in an earlier piece.
His outburst of efficiency over the last few matches of the calendar year are a credit to Tuchel as well, with Dortmund's head coach finding the perfect role for his talented youngster, as Deutsche Welle's Ross Dunbar pointed out on Twitter during the match:
With four goals and 12 assists over 23 matches across competitions, per Transfermarkt.com, Dembele is putting up elite statistics that would be phenomenal for a veteran attacking player. For a 19-year-old in his first full senior season and in his first campaign after moving to a new league, those numbers are out of this world.
Other than his substitution, the only downer about Dembele's performance is that it did not come in a winning effort for Dortmund. Then again, given the way the game went, a point was the most the Black and Yellows could hope for.
Weidenfeller's indecisiveness gifted Hoffenheim's Mark Uth a goal three minutes into the game, when Dortmund's high line was uncoordinated and gave the hosts a free run following a simple long ball.
Perhaps this is where the injuries play their part, as defensive leader Sokratis missed the match and his replacement Sven Bender made his season debut coming back from a foot injury. Perhaps the Greek would have been able to make Weidenfeller come out of his goal with more conviction or to get Matthias Ginter to hold the high line and play Uth offside.
Still, more has to be expected from Weidenfeller, whose main quality should be his vast experience. On the contrary, however, his age seems to work against him, as Goal USA's Seth Vertelney joked about after the goal:
Weidenfeller looked like he was about 65 years old right there
The 36-year-old has not played well as Roman Burki's replacement outside of a magnificent performance against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
Dortmund have now conceded 11 goals in six matches with the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner between the sticks, and while it would be harsh to make him responsible for all of them, he provides no security to his team-mates at this point. The club's decision-makers will have to think long and hard about adding a new No. 2 goalkeeper in the summer—at the latest.
Weidenfeller also looked awkward for the second goal, when a soft header from Sandro Wagner slipped over his fingers, but the goal should have been ruled out for a clear push from the German striker on Bender.
It is inconceivable how the assistant referee failed to spot it, he had a clear view of Wagner's full arm extension inside the six-yard box. The 29-year-old himself admitted to his transgression after the match, per Dortmund's website: "It was a foul by me, I have to be honest."
If that was not enough to enrage the Black and Yellows players, coaches and officials, a sending off for Marco Reus later in the first half did the trick. His first booking for a clear foul on Niklas Sule was a good call from referee Brandt, but the second yellow was simply asinine.
In real time, it may have looked as though Reus rushed into the challenge of Nadiem Amiri a bit too clumsily, but replays showed it was actually the Hoffenheim midfielder who pulled Reus deeper into the challenge, made him lose his balance and thus bring Amiri down. This picture says it all:
The same assistant referee who failed to spot Wagner's foul was again in perfect position, the incident happening right in front of him at the sideline, and again he let his referee down as much or more than Dortmund.
The Ruhr side deserve massive credit for the way they fought and, for the most part, defended with 10 men for more than 50 minutes. While they certainly missed Reus, they never looked to be a man down, thanks to passionate efforts from a number of players.
Gotze's work rate was especially impressive, given the 24-year-old is still mostly considered an attacking player. He ran tirelessly, filling gaps all over midfield and often dropping into a holding-midfielder position.
Seeing as he had not played since November 26 due to injury himself, it was a commendable performance from a player who has yet to receive his due recognition during his second stint with Dortmund.
His contributions were not as obviously brilliant as Dembele's, but a draw would not have been possible for the Black and Yellows had they not done the grunt work during the second half. Hoffenheim were closer to a potential winner, with Andrej Kramaric wasting a golden opportunity with only three minutes to go.
But a defeat would have been incredibly harsh on the visitors. "In the half-time interval we resolved that we wouldn't leave here tonight without any points," Tuchel said after the match. "We wanted to fight with everything we had to stop that from happening."
Fight they did and thus earned a draw that could prove vital for the rest of the season. It keeps them in shouting distance with Hoffenheim, who could have moved to four points of advantage over the Black and Yellows.
With a home match against Augsburg as the final game of the year for Dortmund—an encounter they will be expected to win comfortably—they should not be too far away from the Champions League spots during the winter break.
