Borussia Dortmund outlasts Slavia Praha

As part of our comprehensive coverage, we are following each Bundesliga side that has qualified for the Champions League.

Borussia Dortmund did not have an easy time battling Czech power Slavia Praha at Sinobo Stadium in Prague, but the Black and Yellows ultimately pulled away for a 2-0 victory over the host team in a Champions League Group F match-up.

Borussia Dortmund was controlling play and had good opportunities throughout, but was being pushed by Slavia Praha. Ultimately, Achraf Hakimi’s goals in the 35th and 89th minutes were the difference in the game, but Roman Bürki made a couple of brilliant saves to keep Borussia Dortmund afloat.

In the 23rd minute, Bürki raced off his line to deny Slavia Praha’s Lukáš Masopust, which could have changed the whole course of the game if Masopust would have found a way around the 28-year-old goalkeeper.

Points of discussion

• The rollicking, confident team that was full of swagger and bounced Bayern Munich in the DFL Supercup is no longer the one that takes the pitch for Borussia Dortmund. Obviously, the talent is still there, but something is not clicking for the squad under Lucien Favre. The 61-year-old coach had better figure it out soon.
• Julian Brandt appears to be finally settling in at Borussia Dortmund and was excellent yesterday. The former Bayer Leverkusen star could be a huge asset to the Borussia Dortmund line-up if Favre decides to use him more consistently.
• The biggest issue that could be plaguing Favre is that he has not solved a way to best utilize the talent on his roster. We don’t know what is going on behind the scenes in Dortmund, but it is easy to imagine that some players are growing weary of not playing.
• Favre’s decision to use Marco Reus atop the formation was extremely curious. The coach appears to be extremely reluctant to use Mario Götze in the role where he excelled last season, while Reus did not seem overly comfortable there.
• Jadon Sancho was solid as always, but could not convert his chances.
• The Chicago Blackhawks (boo!) are in Prague for a game against the Philadelphia Flyers (yay!) and a few of the Chicago boys took in the game: