Borussia Dortmund vs. Gladbach: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund began the Bundesliga season in impressive fashion, dominating Borussia Monchengladbach in an impressive 4-0 home win on Saturday at Signal-Iduna Park.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored twice, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus netting once each, to lead Dortmund to victory in their first league game under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
The win put Dortmund in second place after the first matchday, even on points with defending champions Bayern Munich, who put five goals past Hamburg without reply on Friday night.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from Saturday's match.
Winner: Thomas Tuchel
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Thomas Tuchel had never beaten Borussia Monchengladbach in six previous attempts as manager of FSV Mainz, but the 41-year-old changed that at the first opportunity with Dortmund, coaxing a brilliant showing from his side in their Bundesliga opener.
Die Schwarzgelben thoroughly dominated their opponents almost from the first moments of the match, and they could have scored more than four goals if they hadn't eased off in the second half. Defensively, Dortmund swarmed to the ball, limiting Monchengladbach's possession severely, even in their own half. After winning the ball, Dortmund attacked incisively—passing, moving and combining intelligently to devastating effect.
Several players turned in excellent individual performances. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shinji Kagawa, Marco Reus and Ilkay Gundogan all appeared back to their best. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sparkled at the top of the formation. New signing Julian Weigl slotted seamlessly into the midfield. Together, the team produced a stunning display of attacking football, especially in the first half.
Following a beloved figure like Jurgen Klopp, Tuchel had a difficult task ahead of him when he took over as Dortmund's manager. But such an impressive first Bundesliga win bodes well.
"Tuchel is more of a thinker, like Pep whereas Klopp was a great motivator, personality and superego figure," Futbol Artist Network's Daniel Nyari noted on Twitter. He added, "Tuchel perfect for club thrown into identity crisis under coach who realized that too late, didn't have tools to resolve."
The long season will present further challenges, but Tuchel has passed his first test in spectacular fashion.
Winner: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored twice to highlight a sparkling performance against Gladbach, and for those who have watched Dortmund in the earliest part of this new season, it came as no surprise.
Dortmund had already played three competitive matches before Saturday, and the Armenian midfielder has been his side's in-form player. In two victories in UEFA Europa League qualifiers and another in the German Cup, Mkhitaryan netted four goals and handed out three assists.
Following another strong showing in the Bundesliga opener, it's beginning to appear that this could be a breakout season for the player. Signed for €27.5 million in 2013 as a replacement for Mario Gotze, Mkhitaryan has not quite—at least yet—shown the end product on the pitch to match his obvious talents. Last season, he scored just three times in 28 league appearances while dealing with issues of confidence.
Under new manager Thomas Tuchel, however, Mkhitaryan appears rejuvenated. His best attributes—blinding speed and eye-catching technical ability—are still present, but the Armenian now seems to be playing with confidence.
Writing for ESPN FC, Stefan Buczko noted:
"BVB's slightly altered playing style with a more patient build-up and focus on a clean and elaborate combination play in the opponent's half is suiting Mkhitaryan -- especially with the full-backs being more involved in the play. Marcel Schmelzer on the left-hand side is pushing higher up the field, forming a triangle with Mkhitaryan and the nearest attacker or holding midfielder. Mkhitaryan now has more options to change his angle and reposition himself with a simple lay-off instead of trying to run head-first through a wall of defenders.
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If Mkhitaryan continues to play so well, scoring goals and setting up his teammates, he has the potential to be one of the league's brightest stars this season. Dortmund, meanwhile, will be hoping his good form leads to a renewed title challenge to Bayern Munich, who have steamrolled over the Bundesliga each of the past three seasons.
Loser: Lucien Favre
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Borussia Monchengladbach coach Lucien Favre had stern words for his side after Saturday's beatdown, telling Deutsche Welle, "[Dortmund] were better than us—period. They were faster than us—period. 0-4 was deserved—period."
Favre's staccato-style analysis summed up the game nicely. Dortmund were the better team throughout the 90 minutes, beating Gladbach to seemingly every important 50-50 ball and tearing apart their opponents with frightening ease.
Dortmund's third and fourth goals graphically illustrated the distance between the two squads on the day. In the 33rd minute, the hosts countered at pace as Ilkay Gundogan freed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the right. After out-pacing his marker and entering the box, Aubameyang passed to the unmarked Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who slotted in from close range.
It was beautiful football, and Dortmund made it look astonishingly easy.
Another counter led to the fourth goal in the 50th minute. This time, Marco Reus led the move down the right, pushing the ball deep into the box before pulling back into the middle. Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan were both unmarked, and Mkhitaryan applied the finishing touch again to complete the scoring.
From there, Dortmund easily could have scored six, seven or even more, but with Monchengladbach decisively beaten, the hosts eased off for the final 40 minutes.
In fairness to Gladbach, the visitors played without key regulars on Saturday. Even so, Favre, it seems, has work to do. After guiding his team to third place last term and a berth in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage, opening day went horribly wrong for the Swiss manager, who probably could not have imagined a worse start.
How bad is it for the Foals? With 33 league games left, it's way too early to panic. But Gladbach will be desperate to turn their fortunes around next weekend and beat Mainz at Borussia-Park, if only to erase the memory of Saturday's disappointing opener.
Winners: Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both scored a goal and assisted another, and their collective performance gave Dortmund's supporters ample reason to feel excited about their team's attacking potential this season.
Reus netted the opener in the 15th minute, powering a shot past Yann Sommer at the near post. Aubameyang struck six minutes later with a well-placed header. Each player then assisted a goal, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan finishing both.
In the 33rd minute, Aubameyang provided the final pass to set up the Armenian's first strike, though he probably could have gone for goal himself. Reus then played the role of provider five minutes into the second half, with Aubameyang unselfishly allowing the ball to run to Mkhitaryan.
Reus started on the right but popped up across the top of Dortmund's formation. The goal was his first in the league since February, and after an injury-hit 2014-15 campaign, he'll be hoping for a sustained run of games this term. Aubameyang used his searing speed to beat defenders, but his movement, combination play and unselfishness were also worthy of praise.
Together, the two were nearly unstoppable. Many an opposing defender will have nightmares preparing to face Dortmund's exciting attackers this season.
Losers: Andreas Christensen and Marvin Schulz
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First-choice center-backs Martin Stranzl (the club captain) and Alvaro Dominguez were unavailable with injuries, so Borussia Monchengladbach manager Lucien Favre drafted youngsters Andreas Christensen and Marvin Schulz into his starting lineup for the season opener. It did not go well.
Both players struggled immensely to deal with Dortmund's fast, incisive attacks, though admittedly they enjoyed little cover from their midfield. Christensen in particular had a rough afternoon. The 19-year-old Chelsea loanee lost track of Aubameyang on Dortmund's second strike, and he was unable to match Aubameyang's speed as the hosts countered for the third.
As the Foals continue their Bundesliga campaign and prepare for the Champions League group stage, Favre will have to sort out his defense. It would be unfair to lay too much blame on two players who are so young (Schulz is 20), but on Saturday, they weren't even on the same planet as Dortmund's attackers.
Winner: Julian Weigl
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Dortmund had a youngster of their own on the pitch, midfielder Julian Weigl. Unlike Christensen and Schulz, however, Weigl impressed.
Playing a holding role at the back of Dortmund's midfield, the 19-year-old was instrumental in suffocating several of Monchengladbach's attempts to attack. In addition, he completed 94.1 percent of his passes, according to WhoScored.com.
Such poise bodes well for the youngster's prospects at the club, as does the fact that he has slotted into the midfield so seamlessly since joining Dortmund from 1860 Munich over the summer. Surely Weigl has a bright future ahead.
Follow @MiguelCominguez
