5 reasons Borussia Dortmund STILL beat Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League
Borussia Dortmund head into their UEFA Champions League Group F tie at home to Inter Milan on Wednesday knowing a win could send them back to the top of their section when they take on the prestigious Italian club.
bundesliga.com outlines five reasons why all three points can remain at the Signal Iduna Park….
1) Rested Sancho ready to be unleashed
Having rested Jadon Sancho for Dortmund's emphatic 3-0 win over Wolfsburg at the weekend - a result that ended the Wolves' unbeaten start to the season and moved BVB into second-place - coach Lucien Favre may just have an ace up his sleeve in the shape of Sancho.
The 19-year-old was described by the Swiss tactician as being "dead" in terms of fatigue ahead of the Matchday 7 draw with Freiburg but has since had his playing time carefully managed with run-outs in three of the five matches that have followed so Sancho's legs should be fresh.
Watch: Jadon Sancho is flying in the Bundesliga!
Having watched the Wolfsburg victory from the subs bench, the England international will be itching to get back into competitive action. Sancho already has five Bundesliga assists and three goals this season, and his quality is such that he cannot be tamed for a full 90 minutes. Inter, you have been warned.
2) Inter don’t like German teams
Inter have faced Bundesliga opposition 36 times over the years, and – on the face of it - the record is remarkably even. The Italians have won on 16 occasions, losing 14 and drawing six.
However, momentum has very much been with German clubs in recent years, with Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, Schalke, Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt all beating Inter in the last decade. Moreover, Frankfurt earned an impressive 1-0 victory in the away leg of the Europa League Round of 16 last season en route to the semi-finals, in what was Inter's fourth successive home defeat to German opposition in Europe (Wolfsburg, Schalke and Bayern have also all won there).
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They put an end to that run by beating Dortmund 2-0 at the San Siro but their record on their travels to Germany offers the Bundesliga side encouragement. In fact, the Italians are without a win from their last three trips to Germany (D1, L2) and their 3-2 victory at Bayern in March 2011 is their only victory in their last eight games away to Bundesliga clubs (D3, L4).
3) Hummels to nullify Lukaku's threat
Inter are currently second in the Serie A standings, one point behind Juventus and with 24 goals in their first 11 league games of the campaign. Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku is the club's leading scorer so far with nine goals in eight appearances and helped the Milan outfit keep pace with Juve courtesy of a 91st minute winner from the penalty spot at the weekend.
But the 26-year-old hasn't scored in the Champions League this term and in Mats Hummels is facing a defender of some calibre. The Dortmund No.15 has been imperious for BVB in 2019/20, winning 67 per cent of all his challenges – a figure that rises to 74 per cent in the air. A World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, his experience, composure and unparalleled positioning truly come to the fore when it matters most.
"Mats has got so much footballing quality," said Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc at the start of the season. "He’s got experience, he knows how to win and is able to cope with pressure unbelievably well." Anything other than a standout performance from Hummels here would, therefore, be a surprise.
4) Hummels not alone in the Dortmund defence
The former Bayern Munich defender joined an already formidable Dortmund defence which proved itself on the European stage in 2018/19. BVB conceded the fewest goals in last season's group stage (two) and kept the most clean sheets (five). That, despite coming up against a far from simple trio of opponents in Atletico Madrid, Monaco and Club Brugge.
And prior to defeat in Italy two weeks ago, Dortmund hadn't conceded in this season's competition, having controlled one of European football's scariest attacks in Barcelona and kept Prague goalless at home - the latter something Inter were unable to do at the San Siro.
Hummels has been joined by Switzerland international Manuel Akanji in all three of this season's group stage games so far, while Raphael Guerreiro featured at left-back against Bracelona and Slavia Prague. For the latter match in Prague, Lukasz Piszczek also came in at right-back.
Achraf Hakimi has played on the right in the other two matches and was joined on the opposite flank against Inter by Germany international Nico Schulz as Favre opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation with Julian Weigl slotting in at centre-back. It shows BVB have an array of options for their backline and are capable of adapting their game to suit the opposition.
5) Reus's supporting cast
Favre was without his captain in Milan due to a bout of the flu and the 30-year-old misses out once again after coming off with a foot injury after just 30 minutes of the win over Wolfsburg. But in Reus' absence, Dortmund fans have still had reason to cheer thanks to the attacking depth at the club.
Thorgan Hazard returned to haunt his former club with an electric display against Gladbach - the Belgian provided the assist for his skipper's goal - and followed it up with a maiden Bundesliga strike in black and yellow at the weekend. Meanwhile, Brandt scored a match-winning brace against the Foals in the DFB Cup and is finding the form that saw Favre move for the former Leverkusen man in the summer.
FIFA World Cup winner Mario Götze replaced Reus from the bench in that game and confidently stroked home Dortmund's third from the penalty spot for his second league goal of the campaign. Paco Alcacer's one minute cameo was just as welcome for Dortmund. It was the Spaniard's first appearance in six outings following an achilles injury that interrupted his fine start to the season, consisting of five goals in just seven Bundesliga appearances.
Overall, Favre is blessed with a Plan A, B, C and D. It's difficult to make the same argument for Antonio Conte's Inter, especially in light of their underwhelming 2-1 defeat to Serie A leaders Juventus and 1-1 draw with unfancied Group F rivals Slavia Prague.
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