5 reasons Borussia Dortmund will beat Ajax in the UEFA Champions League
Jude Bellingham's sensational form is one of several factors that should have Borussia Dortmund in confident mood ahead of the visit of Ajax in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
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bundesliga.com outlines five reasons why Dortmund can make it three wins from four in Group C…
1) Jude Bellingham the boss
Bellingham has already been decisive on more than one occasion in Europe this season, starting with a goal and an assist in Dortmund's 2-1 win over Besiktas in Turkey on Matchday 1. He followed that up by laying on Donyell Malen's winner against Sporting in his team's second European outing.
The England midfielder even shrugged off a Matchday 3 defeat for Dortmund in Amsterdam by scoring a spectacular solo goal in the 3-1 victory over Arminia Bielefeld.
"Jude's an outstanding lad," said Dortmund head coach Marco Rose after watching Bellingham stroll by three players before lifting the ball over the keeper. "He's in a great frame of mind and gives us so much. He never stops running and just plays so well."
Watch: Check out Bellingham's goal in Bielefeld
Equal parts tenacious and tireless when he made the switch from Birmingham City at 17, Bellingham's ever-growing attacking instinct is another sizeable string to Dortmund's bow. Arguably the most rounded player under the age of 25 in Europe right now, perhaps the 18-year-old Golden Boy nominee is - like Pep Guardiola suggested - lying about his age after all.
2) They can cope without Haaland
Most teams would struggle without a star striker, particularly one with 70 goals in 69 competitive games for his club. But if Erling Haaland does miss out against Ajax through injury, then BVB have shown they are more than capable of finding the net without him.
Bellingham picked up the slack with that wonder goal in Bielefeld, but before that Emre Can and Mats Hummels had also netted in the same game. In the DFB Cup win over Ingolstadt, it was Thorgan Hazard who both came off the bench and came to the fore. The Belgian struck twice to send cup holders Dortmund through to the last 16, and he followed up with another goal in the 2-0 weekend win over Cologne. Steffen Tigges got his first Dortmund goal in that game, which is another reason for the home team - who have scored seven goals in three games since last facing Ajax - to believe they can win important matches without Haaland.
Former Ajax academy player and ex-PSV forward Malen has already been a matchwinner in Europe this season, meanwhile, while fellow attackers like Julian Brandt and Marco Reus have also delivered before on big European nights in Dortmund.
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3) Dortmund are formidable at home
Dortmund had an off night in the Netherlands, but at home they're a different proposition. Only Bayern Munich - in the DFL Supercup - have managed an away victory there this season, and Rose's team have scored three or more goals in four of their home matches so far. They've now made it seven wins in a row on their own patch after seeing off Cologne.
Driven on by devoted supporters on the famous Yellow Wall and elsewhere around the ground, BVB have also chalked up some memorable European wins in recent seasons. Portuguese champions Sporting have already left empty-handed this term, while Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, Inter Milan, Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, Slavia Prague, and Zenit St. Petersburg have also been sent packing since the 2018/19 season.
4) History on BVB's side
It might be one of the shorter trips that Ajax will have to make for a Champions League match - 240 kilometres east of their home in Amsterdam - but the truth is that the Dutch champions haven't enjoyed their jaunts across the border of late. Ajax have, in fact, lost four of their last six matches on German soil.
One of those defeats came on their last visit to Dortmund, when the two sides were paired in the 2012/13 Champions League group stage. Things looked to be going against the home side when Hummels had a second-half penalty saved, but with three minutes left Robert Lewandowski latched onto a Lukasz Piszczeck ball into the area. Then-Dortmund boss Jürgen Klopp described what followed as a “spectacular bit of skill” - the Polish striker held off his man, dummied a shot, and crashed in the only goal of the game. That victory set Dortmund on the way to topping their group before eventually finishing as runners-up to Bayern at Wembley. Another victory on Wednesday would have BVB within striking distance of the knockout stage once again.
5) Dortmund are back on track
The Ajax game is the sixth of seven matches that Dortmund will have played in the space of 22 days. The 1997 European champions have negotiated their schedule well this season, however, losing only two matches - and winning the rest - since the end of August. That kind of form has them just one point off the top of the Bundesliga table, and a good recovery since their trip to the Netherlands suggests they will put in another strong performance in midweek.
Rose has managed his squad smartly since they last met the Dutch giants, allowing experienced campaigners like Reus, Manuel Akanji and Axel Witsel to get a breather, while Malen has got over a stomach bug. Mahmoud Dahoud and Youssoufa Moukoko are also hoping to be options for the Ajax game so - with confidence growing again after three successive victories - the Dortmund coach will have a strong hand to play.
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