Were this Borussia Dortmund side the subject of a screenplay, it would have been scrapped well before production. Reality simply doesn’t work this way.
From Saturday to Saturday in the week prior to the international break, Dortmund played three matches. In each of those matches, they suffered through borderline or outright humiliating first halves, only to find redemption before full-time.
Prior to this run of improbable results, Dortmund labored through a more drawn out expression of the same theme.
A domineering 4-1 win over RB Leipzig on the opening day of their season was followed by a dour 0-0 draw to Hannover 96 five days later. Dortmund routed Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 following the international break, a result that was thrown into contrast by a limp 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim.
Throughout that run of ups and downs though, Dortmund remained unbeaten. There was always going to be a few bumps in the road as the club adapted to Lucien Favre’s and his particular style of play. Two draws sandwiched between commanding wins was far from awful.
Only Dortmund are aiming at something higher. Since the golden age under Jürgen Klopp ended, the club cycled through three different managers, each disappointing in their own way, but never missed out on qualifying for Europe. What’s eluded them so far in the post-Klopp era has been a genuine title chase.
Keeping pace with Bayer Munich is consequently the overriding goal from the opening whistle. Draws against the likes of Hannover might not sting too much in isolation, but they leave the club one step off pace to a Bayern side that typically wraps up the league title by March.
If Favre wished to avoid the fate of his immediate predecessors, he would need to do more, and do it consistently.
A 7-0 win over Nürnberg felt like another commanding performance destined to be undermined by a tough match against Bayer Leverkusen just days later.
Forty-five minutes through that match at Leverkusen, it seemed like Dortmund might be punished with much more than just a draw. They looked unable to deal with their hosts, and left space in midfield and defense that was exploited to the tune of a two goal lead.
The bench would save Dortmund that day. Favre’s side have considerable depth after years of recurring injuries crises, including former Manchester City youngster Jadon Sancho and on-loan Barcelona striker Paco Alcácer. The former set up Marco Reus’ equalizer after Jacob Bruun Larsen opened Dortmund’s account, while the latter earned the lead and the stoppage time goal that secured the result.
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This would be a recurring theme, it turned out.
After a tame first half just days later against Monaco in the Champions League, Alcácer again scored two after the interval, with Sancho setting up the third in a 3-0 win.
Then came Augsburg, a team which had already humbled Bayern Munich weeks prior in a 1-1 home draw for the reigning champions. Dortmund again came into half-time losing, but came out at full time on the winning side of a wild 4-3 scoreline. It was, of course, Alcácer who saved the day. He scored a hat-trick after coming on in the 59th minute, including the winning goal deep into stoppage time.
These results have positioned Dortmund at the top of both the Bundesliga and their Champions League group. Uneven wins make for good stories and better viewing, but they have a way of increasing — not decreasing — nerves.
Just how long can Dortmund count on Alcácer scoring multiple goals off the bench? If this defense can’t keep Augsburg from scoring three against them at home, what happens when they are forced to play the likes of Bayern?
Favre’s options in the short-term are simple here. Alcácer must start over Maximilian Philipp, who Favre has favored in the opening weeks of the campaign. His form simply must be exploited for all that it’s worth. Perhaps he can maintain something close to this level for the duration of the season.
A bigger ask is building some cohesion with a Dortmund defense that is still learning how to play Favre’s style and work together.
The sale of Sokratis Papastathopoulos to Arsenal over the summer and the aging of Lukasz Pisczek and Marcel Schmelzer put a lot of pressure on an extremely young defensive unit. Dortmund’s back four in the match against Augsburg — left-back Abdou Diallo, centre-backs Dan-Axel Zagadou and Manuel Akanji plus on-loan Real Madrid right-back Achraf Hakimi — average less than 21 years old.
Saturday’s match against Stuttgart likely won’t provide us any real insight into Dortmund’s frailty. Die Schwaben currently reside at the bottom of the Bundesliga table after all with only a single win to their name.
It’s impossible to say anything with any level of certainty about Favre’s side however. They could earn a comfortable 5-0 win, or they could regress toward the mean and suffer a draw — or worse.