Borussia Dortmund's Mature Display Shows Why They Are Europa League Favourites

Thursday's UEFA Europa League contest with FK Qabala could easily have been a trap game for Borussia Dortmund. The Black and Yellows beat the Azerbaijani visitors without too much difficulty in the first meeting, in which Qabala showed they lacked the necessary firepower to threaten Dortmund's defence—unless they were invited to do so.

Sunday's Revierderby with archrivals Schalke 04 could have been on the minds of the players like it was on the minds of most fans. Overlooking Qabala, an opponent Dortmund would have been expected to beat with only eight outfield players, would have been excusable in a way.

But the Dortmund of the 2015/16 season are not about having letdown games. It's precisely why they have to be considered favourites for the Europa League at this point.

The moment that best describes why wasn't one of their goals—not even Henrikh Mkhitaryan's thunderous shot, the pick of the litter.

The defining moment came late in the game, long after the Signal Iduna Park started to get ready for Sunday with chants against the hated local rival. ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko noticed the moment right away.

Mkhitaryan could easily have let Qabala have a little bit possession, deep in their own half, down 4-0 and having failed to hit a shot at Roman Weidenfeller's goal for 89 minutes. His actions showed how diligently Dortmund approached the game and how hungry for success they are.

That mindset was evident for the entire game. Dortmund showed the required patience, as they were content to keep the ball and wait for Qabala's block of five defenders around the penalty box to make a mistake. The second time they left too much space, Dortmund pounced. It was Marco Reus, scoring his sixth goal in his last five appearances, who broke the deadlock.

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Take a look at this quality goal by the dynamic Marco Reus #BVB #UEL pic.twitter.com/6LCgrF3DMx

— CrowdScores App (@CrowdScores) November 5, 2015"

The scoreline was very friendly to Qabala, as Dortmund could—and probably should—have scored six or seven. Mkhitaryan twice shook the post, and his team-mates hit Polish 'keeper Dawid Pietrzkiewicz in the midriff numerous times as well.

Dortmund's mature performance further established them as favourites to win it all. Qabala head coach Roman Grigorchuk acknowledged as much after the game, relayed by UEFA.de, calling Thursday's winners a big team that can reach and win the final. He also added that Dortmund could easily play in the Champions League this season.

You can understand why the Ukrainian had such lofty praise for Dortmund. They advanced to the round of 32 after four games without playing their first-choice XI even once. On Thursday, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Ilkay Gundogan and Shinji Kagawa got a rest.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel has largely used the Europa League to give some of his second-string players a run. They reward him regularly, such as Sven Bender did with a majestic performance on Thursday. Tuchel has yet to lose in Europe, having won seven of his eight games in charge of the Black and Yellows.

Dortmund are the bookkeepers' favourites to win the Europa League, with odds as low as 5-1 being offered, per Oddschecker. That could obviously change once the third-placed teams drop down from the Champions League. Arsenal would probably jump ahead, Sevilla as well, perhaps, having won the competition the last two years.

Dortmund do, however, have one advantage over almost everyone else: the Bundesliga. The Black and Yellows will, in all likelihood, be able to concentrate on the Europa League in the new year. It's highly unlikely they'll be able to hang with Bayern Munich and fight for the title, but it's almost as unlikely they'll be challenged for second place. 

Whereas other favourites such as Napoli or Liverpool will probably be fighting for the Scudetto or a top-four finish respectively, Dortmund might well identify the Europa League as their best shot at silverware this season—after all, it is the only competition in which they can't face Bayern.

Qabala obviously didn't represent a measuring stick for Dortmund's prospects footballing-wise, but it was a character test. They passed with flying colours and confirmed what many onlookers already knew: Dortmund are ready to go all the way in Europe.

Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.