MOTM Poll: Dortmund Keep Their Title Hopes Alive with 5-2 Win Over Gladbach.

That decides it! Dortmund are the superior Borussia.

For the second weekend in a row, BVB fans were treated to a Dortmund squad that relentlessly attacked their opponent’s goal. It’s hard to imagine we lost to both Wolfsburg and Monchengladbach earlier this season. This match saw the Black and Yellows ahead by four goals at halftime thanks to the improving Sebastian Haller, the on-fire Donny Malen and our (probably) departing prodigy, Jude Bellingham.

The second half saw Borussia Monchengladbach catch Dortmund’s complacency off-guard with a penalty kick from Ramy Bensebaini and a screamer from substitute Lars Stindl. Thankfully the match was put to bed in the final minute after Rapha Guereirro’s free kick was deflected to Gio Reyna who decided he wanted to be on the scoresheet too. It was a good win but Edin Terzic will need to remind his squad that the DFB stopped using VAR in BVB games a few rounds ago so the players cannot be relying on poor calls being overturned. Case in point being Borussia Monchengladbach’s penalty in the 73rd minute.

Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images

Anyway, here are our picks for Man of the Match:

Sebastien Haller

Dortmund’s number nine has really been finding his shooting boots of late. While Donny converted a saved shot from Haller, the Ivorian still managed a brace, with each goal coming from a world-class finish. That back-heel shot was unreal. Though the maidan hat-trick still evades him, Sebastien is really starting to look like the player he was prior to his move to Dortmund and subsequent cancer diagnosis. This was a taste of good things to come.

Donny Malen

The Dutchman has become one of BVB’s strongest attackers in recent weeks. For all of his pace, he’s finally aiming his crosses well. He assisted both of Haller’s goals and found the net once himself in what he’ll consider to be a great performance. He had a high passing success and a personal xG of almost two. The way he outplayed Bensebaini on the right side might make Dortmund question whether or not they should be pursuing the Algerian as a defensive reinforcement.

Jude Bellingham

For only being a teenager, Bellingham brings a maturity and leadership to the pitch that will be sorely lost next season should he choose to leave. While his actual Penalty Kick was nothing special, it was on target and he shot it with enough confidence to send Jan Olschowsky guessing a direction. His overall performance was exemplary with creative footwork on display in nearly every attack.

Julian Brandt

While not as flashy as his counterparts, Brandt managed to put in a really good shift as he controlled the temp. The German had 6 key passes into the box, won 80% of his duels, and was only dispossessed once while playing further back than usual. Maybe Terzic and Brandt were showing us where midfield progression will come from in a post-Bellingham world?

What’s Next?

I was telling folks to root for Schalke last week so this week I’ll naturally be asking all of you to support Marco Rose and RB Energy Drink as they travel to Bayern next weekend. If they manage to take some points from the Bavarians, then I’ll personally go buy a can of Redbull as my way of saying “thank you.”

What are your thoughts?