Hoffenheim 1-1 Borussia Dortmund: 3 things we learned

Borussia Dortmund rescued a point against Hoffenheim. Here are three things we learned from the match.

Saturday’s showdown between Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim promised to be one of the best games of the week, given that these are two of the top clubs in Germany. The last time these two teams faced each other, Hoffenheim won 3-1, and it seemed like they would obtain a similar result after taking a lead late in the first half.

However, Dortmund were able to find a late equalizer, courtesy of a low-cross from Marco Reus to Christian Pulisic. This marked the second time Pulisic pulled out a crucial goal for Dortmund this week, as he deposited their lone goal in the Champions League tilt against Club Brugge.

Here are three takeaways from Dortmund’s draw against Hoffenheim.

The striker problem

Paco Alcacer was supposed to play a key role as Borussia Dortmund’s main striker, but the loanee from Barcelona suffered an ankle injury during his impressive debut. Dortmund won that game against Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 thanks to a goal and an assist from Alcacer.

Hopefully, the former Valencia star will be able to return to the lineup soon, because Dortmund missed having a true number 9 in this game. Against Hoffenheim’s experienced, organized defense, Dortmund had trouble delivering service to Reus up top in the second half after removing the ineffective Marius Wolf and clearly missed having an out-and-out striker.

Maximillian Phillip entered the game as a substitute for Shinji Kagawa, but his failure to make a mark on the proceedings underscored Dortmund’s problem. Out of all of BVB’s players in the lineup, Phillip had the most experience playing as a number 9, but he just isn’t effective in this role. That was clear against Frankfurt and against Hoffenheim, where he looked indecisive in the final third.

There was a play where Phillip had a half-chance, but it didn’t seem like he had an idea of what he wanted to do with the ball. Phillip lost possession, failing to get his feet sorted out before softly losing possession.

Dortmund can continue to use Reus as a striker with Alcacer out of the lineup, but that just doesn’t seem to be the most effective usage of Reus. Whenever Dortmund’s star player drifted out to the left, he created dangerous opportunities with his classy first touch and elite passing awareness. One of these chances was Dortmund’s goal.

Pulisic shines again

Pulisic was the best player on the pitch for Borussia Dortmund in this game, and that point became obvious in the final 15 minutes of the match. Dortmund were down to 10 men after a controversial red card for Abdou Diallo, but Pulisic’s frenetic, lung-busting runs filled the void.

After scoring the game-winning goal against Brugge in the 85th minute earlier this week, Pulisic tied the game in the 84th against Hoffenheim by latching onto Reus’s cross from the left side. Pulisic simply willed his way past the defender attempting to cover him, and that was the hardest part of finishing off the move that Reus started so brilliantly.

Without much service from the midfield and with Jadon Sancho uncharacteristically struggling to beat defenders on the other side of the formation, Dortmund desperately needed someone to step up and carve out opportunities in this game.

Pulisic more than rose to the occasion. Even before he scored the game-tying goal, Pulisic was by far the most lively player on Dortmund. He drew fouls, took on defenders and had a few mazy runs where he was only missing the final ball (or some extra space against Hoffenehim’s miserly defense).

Even when Alcacer returns, Pulisic will continue to be a major key for Dortmund in these big games, because his directness and ability to find something extra “in the clutch” have made him a huge asset to this side.

Ugly first half speaks volumes

Dortmund managed to walk away from this battle with Hoffenheim with a point, and they’ll remain in the top five of the table even after other sides finish their games. However, the first half of their performance against Hoffenheim speaks volumes about where Lucien Favre’s weaknesses are as a side.

Although BVB finished the game with more possession than their counterparts in blue, Hoffenheim had more than twice as many shots. Taking Wolf and Mahmoud Dahoud off the pitch helped Dortmund, but this team were simply overrun in midfield and only started to become more effective in attack when they relied on their wing play.

Dortmund seemed to play better with 10 men than with 11, which is an indication of how they couldn’t move the ball or create space against Hoffenheim’s defense without moments of magic from Pulisic and Reus.

It’s important not to panic about a team with talent struggling against a difficult opponent, because Dortmund showed great resiliency in coming from behind with 10 men. But since Dortmund have such high aspirations, they cannot continue to put themselves behind the curve with sloppy midfield play for 60 minutes or poor personnel decisions (such as playing an overmatched Wolf at striker), because they won’t always be able to pull it together in the final 15 minutes.

Perhaps if Hoffenheim were less complacent in attack and if Belfodil buried that last-gasp chance in stoppage time, the narrative would be a more negative one for BVB. So while there are encouraging takeaways regarding the character of this side, Favre must take this overall performance as a warning of what could go wrong if the team isn’t proactive about addressing its weaknesses going forward.