Match winner Julian Brandt just wanted to go to bed. Despite all the feelings of happiness, the Dortmund midfielder completed the interviews following the 1-0 (0-0) win over Werder Bremen in a hurry. “I’m very happy – and tired,” said the jet-lagged noble technician.
With his winning goal in the 67th minute, he ensured that the much-noticed and expensive return campaign of the four Dortmund national soccer players from the international matches in the USA in a business jet specially chartered by BVB paid off. The previous night, with what he said was only “three or four hours” of sleep, took its toll. “So I’m happy when I’m in bed,” Brandt commented on DAZN with a mischievous smile.
300th Bundesliga game for Brandt
His impressive lob over the strong Werder keeper Michael Zetterer prevented Borussia from being punished for their usury of chances. With his seventh points scorer in the seventh league game in a row, Brandt once again demonstrated what a central role he now plays in Borussia’s game. “He’s making himself more important to us week after week. Not just on the pitch, but also in the dressing room. His voice is becoming more and more important,” enthused coach Edin Terzic. The fact that Brandt played his 300th Bundesliga game at the age of just 27 earned the coach further respect: “He’s a child of the Bundesliga. To have played so many games at that age is something extraordinary.”
Thanks to the celebrated anniversary, BVB continued its high flight with five wins in a row. Terzic was able to easily get over the fact that the team only occasionally used their great playing potential against Bremen. He passionately defended his team against criticism and referred to the series of 16 games without defeat across the seasons – and a new Dortmund formula for success: “We tried to draw our conclusions in the summer. Less sexy, more success. We have had long enough in the last few We’ve shown beautiful and sexy football for ten years, but in the end it didn’t lead to us achieving our maximum goals.”
To Terzic’s delight, his team is now also winning games without much shine – at a stable level. “You can speak of a constant development. We got 66 points from 27 games – you have to see in Europe whether another team has achieved that,” commented the Dortmund football teacher, not without pride.
Get points in the Champions League
This fuels hope among everyone involved that this upward trend will also have a positive impact on the Champions League. After only one point from the two group games against Paris Saint-Germain (0:2) and AC Milan (0:0), a difficult task lies ahead in Newcastle on Wednesday (9 p.m.). “We know that we have to get some points to keep our chance of progressing,” said sports director Sebastian Kehl.
Before the trend-setting weeks in the premier class and the top game in the Bundesliga against FC Bayern (November 4th), the relaxed personnel situation is also encouraging. With the exception of the young stars Youssoufa Moukoko and Julien Duranville, Terzic was able to rely on his entire squad against Bremen.
The growing competition seems to be driving up the form curve of various professionals. Felix Nmecha, who was signed from Wolfsburg in the summer, gave his best performance to date in a BVB jersey and silenced his critics for the time being. Sports director Kehl saw his confirmation: “Now you can slowly understand why we really wanted the player. He is on a really good path.”
