How Can Borussia Dortmund Improve in Attacking in 2015?

Borussia Dortmund return to Bundesliga action in a matter of weeks with a trip to Bayer Leverkusen on January 31, in a game that should have the whole of Germany and Europe watching intently. 

For with the return of the usual season, many will be wondering whether Jurgen Klopp can turn this side around, pull them out of relegation and toward a possible Champions League spot before May. 

Yet before they do all that, they’ll have to start scoring some goals. With just 18 goals in 17 games so far this season, Dortmund have the fourth-worst attacking record in the league. If they can fix that, then they may just get back to winning ways. 

The biggest problem with Dortmund’s attack at the moment is the manner in which Klopp’s first-choice No. 10 has continuously struggled to do his job this season. 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the club’s most expensive signing to date, has managed to score a grand total of zero goals and has made just one assist, according to Transfermarkt. Meaning one of the key outlets for attacking play within this side simply isn’t performing. 

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

The case of this Armenian international is an odd and equally curious one whereby the midfielder hasn’t actually looked particularly slow, disinterested or out of form whenever he’s played. He still dances past defences, he still tenaciously closes down teams and still lets off as many shots, yet luck just hasn’t been on his side so far. 

However, something has to change and if Mkhitaryan can’t turn his form around, then Klopp will have to bring someone else in. Fortunately, Dortmund do have other options. 

The one Klopp is most likely to turn to is Shinji Kagawa; the Manchester United signing who has returned to the Westfalenstadion with plenty to prove. 

Although the Japanese international hasn’t exactly set the world alight on his return to Germany, he has looked decent in the few chances he’s been given thus far. 

In fact, Kagawa has only been allowed to play a game from start to finish on three occasions in the Bundesliga this season, often coming on for 30 or 60 minutes at a time but never given a real run in the side. 

Yet when we look at his stats from Transfermarkt, we see that the attacking midfielder has amassed one goal and three assists in just four full appearances in three Champions League games and a DFB Cup game against St Pauli. 

Kagawa may not be back to his best at the moment but his stats should put him ahead of Mkhitaryan. Give him a full, extended run in the side and we may see assists and goals return to the No. 10 position. 

The charismatic coach will also have to look toward his strikers when he returns to competitive football later this month and specifically who he is likely to stand by in the lone forward role for the rest of the season. 

Although his squad has been ravished with injuries, Klopp has had the luxury of choosing between Ciro Immobile and Adrian Ramos throughout the season and has in turn offered both bit-part chances when he should have quickly prioritised one over the other. 

Immobile should really be the only genuine option for Klopp at this point. Younger, hungrier and better suited to Dortmund’s quick, technical style of play, the Italian striker has looked outstanding in isolated chances in Europe and indeed in Germany. 

Yet rather than standing by his rigid 4-2-3-1 formation, the Dortmund coach really must change things about to suit his new goalscorer. Immobile isn’t Robert Lewandowski and can’t be expected to hold the ball up, turn a defender and then header a cross in but he does have so many other attributes that the former German champions could take advantage of. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Instead of playing Immobile as something like a target man, Klopp has to play the small striker as a false No. 9 or indeed a deep-lying forward. Let him pull back, play off his attacking midfielders and allow others to run into the box. Maybe then we will finally see a Dortmund striker begin to make up for the lost goals from Lewandowski’s departure. 

Of course, the biggest aspect of fixing Dortmund’s lack of goals is the simple fact that many of the club’s key attacking players are expected to return once the Bundesliga gets back under way. 

The biggest player at the club, Marco Reus, is back playing in the squad and should start in the return fixture against Bayer Leverkusen. With 11 goals already this season, via Transfermarkt, Reus is easily the best option Dortmund have to get flying back up the “goals for” column in the Bundesliga table. 

Yet there are more subtle, significant players who could make a big difference too. 

Nuri Sahin, the central midfielder, former captain and playmaker extraordinaire should be back at the centre of Dortmund’s midfield. There, he will not only break down Klopp’s preferred option of Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender—two slow, defensive midfielders—but also add new life to the quick transition from defence to attack that this club were once famous for. 

Add to that Ilkay Gundogan—arguably Dortmund’s most important player behind Reus—who should look far from the unfit, sloppy player that Klopp rushed back before the winter break, and we should finally see a Dortmund attack that has plenty of options and genuine quality in each position.