Match date: 15 August 2015

Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Borussia Dortmund caused a lot of stir, but the questions that came up were, ‘where would Klopp go next?’ This was because Dortmund had already made up their mind to bring Thomas Tuchel from Mainz and the new Dortmund boss won big on his first official game in charge.

Tuchel opted for a 4-2-3-1 with the back four similar, but backed by a new goalkeeper, Roman Bürki, with Weidenfeller demoted to the bench. In front of the back four was another new face, Julian Weigl anchoring the midfield with İlkay Gündoğan. Further forward Reus, Kagawa, and Mkhitaryan were all in support of Aubameyang, who was played as a lone striker, something he rarely did under Klopp.

Mönchengladbach had an excellent season that campaign as they finished third under Lucien Favre, automatically qualifying for the Champions league. Favre set his side out in a 4-4-2 with new signings Josip Drmic and Lars Stindl starting.

İlkay Gündoğan Epitomises Tuchel’s Dortmund

There are many similarities between Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp, notably that they both came from Mainz before taking over Dortmund, but their respective styles of play are very much different. Tuchel wants his side to move the ball with fluidity and style while not looking to play hopefully vertical passes, as opposed to the high tempo, directness stylings of Klopp. For Tuchel, and today’s performance by Dortmund, Gündoğan was incredibly important. The German international did a huge amount for his side on both sides of the ball, dictating things going forward and actively supporting the pressing of Tuchel’s Dortmund.

When Dortmund had the ball, Gündoğan was usually the deepest of the two holding midfielders, looking to get the ball off of Hummels and Sokratis to start Dortmund’s play going forward. Mönchengladbach playing a mid-low block for much of the match and Dortmund were unable to break it down in the first quarter hour of the match. To address this, Gündoğan had to drop alongside Sokratis (usually) on the right side of Dortmund’s back line when the visitors were able to get all their players behind the ball. This allowed Gündoğan to not only get on the ball without the pressure, but because Dortmund now had three players in that central area, against Mönchengladbach’s two strikers, it allowed both Piszczek and Schmelzer to get up the field regardless of the position of the ball. With the full backs forward, Mönchengladbach’s midfield four of Traore, Stindl, Xhaka, and Johnson were more stretched, allowing quick switches to open up the middle of the field and for Kagawa for get on the ball. Below is a screen capture showing Gündoğan’s deep position, alongside Hummels, allowing him to get on the ball, with the two Dortmund fullbacks further up the field.

Gündoğan’s passing from the back, as well as Hummels’, helped Dortmund move the Mönchengladbach’s block. The first and second goal both came from quick switches that caught out the Mönchengladbach shape shifting, allowing the Dortmund players to find the space. On the first, as the ball was being switched from Gündoğan to Sokratis to Hummels, Stindl and Xhaka were too slow moving, allowing Kagawa to find space and play a one touch ball into Reus, who finished at the near post. The second was similar, as the switch from Gündoğan to Hummels again left Mönchengladbach slow to shift, allowing Schmelzer time to pick out Aubameyang.

On the other side of the ball, Dortmund were excellent as well. It was not the fervent or targeted pressing that Dortmund played under Jurgen Klopp, but it was a high block that effectively pushed Mönchengladbach back and limited the visiting team from playing forward. Again, Gündoğan’s role in the team showed Tuchel’s plans. Despite playing in a 4-2-3-1, Gündoğan’s role without the ball was to push forward, making Dortmund look more like a 4-1-4-1. Gündoğan shifted Kagawa over and allowed for Dortmund to cut off the forward passing lanes (a bit like Milner’s role in Liverpool’s first match this season). Below is a really good example of Dortmund’s shape in a high block when Mönchengladbach had the ball. Notice how high of a line Hummels and Sokratis are playing in the second shot.

Dortmund won the ball in excellent positions a few times, but more importantly, they left Mönchengladbach frustrated and static. Favre’s side had very little going forward for much of the match.

More Dortmund Positives

There were obviously other important aspects to Dortmund’s play that allowed them to win 4-0. Above covered the first two goals that were scored and the third was off a counter attack scored by Mkhitaryan, with the Armenian scoring the fourth as well. His goal scoring is an excellent sign for Tuchel and Dortmund as is Kagawa’s play throughout the match. Last season, both players struggled to fit into Klopp’s system, with the focus being on work the ball quickly to the front players as directly and quickly as possible, at times bypassing Kagawa and Mkhitaryan. Under Tuchel, from what we have seen so far, they are involved much more as the build up play suits them. Mkhitaryan and Reus drifted around much of the pitch with freedom, while Kagawa looked incredibly comfortable combining with those two as well as Aubameyang. The Japan international was unlucky not to score on a clever combination with Aubameyang.

Mönchengladbach’s Chances and Changes

Mönchengladbach struggled for so much of this match. They were pushed back by Dortmund’s possession and high block and struggling to build any play when in possession of the ball. Xhaka, who got on the ball a lot for the visiting side, struggled to find forward passes, while Drmic and Raffael were unable to get on the ball much at all. There was an inability to move the ball with any sense of purpose or fluidity unless the ball was played quickly or if a Dortmund player was caught out of position, which happened from time to time. Below you can see Xhaka’s involvement in the game. Remember that Dortmund relied on Gündoğan to get into deep positions so that they could play forward, just as Mönchengladbach looked to get Xhaka on the ball.

For much of the first half, Favre had his side sit back in a mid to low block, defending in a 4-4-2, but at halftime, the visiting side tried to press Dortmund a bit more, playing a higher line and pushing the first and second lines of pressure further up the field, but Dortmund took quick advantage of this when Kagawa played Reus in, leading to the fourth goal.

As mentioned above, the only time Mönchengladbach looked like creating any sort of chance was when Reus and Mkhitaryan were caught out on the right side. Oscar Wendt was eager to get forward and so when he saw a gap, he would move into it, and hope that he got on the ball. There were a few times when Mönchengladbach looked like they were going to create a good chance from this play down the left, but it never materialised as the decision making or technique of the final pass or second to last pass was always lacking.

Conclusion

Dortmund looked incredibly energised under Tuchel. Sometimes new managers take time in getting their players to understanding the system of play and struggled to get ideas across, but the Dortmund players look to have adjusted very well and very quickly as this display will account. Dortmund and their supporters will be happy to get three points off of a club that they will have to knockout of the Champions League spots if they are to return to the competition next year.

Favre should be concern with how much his team struggled to cope with Dortmund’s possession and defensive structure. Based on last season’s performances, Mönchengladbach would have come into this game as favourites, but really failed to live up to that billing and Favre really failed to adjust his side to the dominance of Dortmund.