Serhou Guirassy and Fabio Silva offer promise of super strike partnership for Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund attackers Serhou Guirassy and Fabio Silva have combined to great effect in Bundesliga wins over Hoffenheim and Paderborn, as well as their UEFA Champions League success against Villarreal, creating hope that a super strike partnership could be blossoming in Black and Yellow.
The impact of some substitutions can go under the radar, but it was impossible not to ackowledge Silva making a claim for a bigger role at Dortmund after his introduction at Hoffenheim on Matchday 2.
The Black and Yellows were trailing 2-0 when the Portuguese attacker was introduced on the hour mark. Dortmund went on to complete a sensational comeback, with Guirassy netting within a minute of Silva coming on and then threading a magnificent pass forward for the substitute to latch onto and level just five minutes afterwards.
Things were just as tense against Villarreal the following Tuesday, with the score level at 1-1 in the 75th minute when Niko Kovač once again summoned Silva from the substitutes' bench.
Again, his impact was near instantaneous, as he laid the ball across for Guirassy to tap in within five minutes - the first of a late brace for the Guinean on his 100th Dortmund appearance as they again won 3-2.
Kovač could not contain his delight after the win in the Champions League opener, saying: "Fabio is flourishing. Serhou is very important to us, but if we add someone like Fabio to the mix - and we are doing just that - then I think we’ve got a real force to be reckoned with."
Guirassy said: "I am very grateful that Silva played the ball to me. Fabio and I really enjoy playing together. He is a great player, and I am happy for him. Things are working well between the two of us."
Within five minutes, the head coach was validated. Latching on to a Guirassy through ball, Silva bore down on goal, rounded Nahuel Noll in the visiting sticks, and slotted home for his first BVB goal after being named in the starting line-up. He would have had an assist for his strike partner later on, too, had the Guinea international not been slightly offside while picking up his teammate's clever pass.
As per Silva, the two have already built up a good connection. "I think we understand the same football. We play the same football. So in training, we try to build this connection. We know we are different, so I can do opposite movements from him. We do the other way, so we enjoy this connection, I think the people are enjoying it as well," he said post-Paderborn.
By working in tandem with a striker six years his senior, 24-year-old Silva is well placed to develop under the tutelage of a striker who has smashed 83 Bundesliga goals in 137 appearances for Cologne, VfB Stuttgart and Dortmund.
The pair's early-season promise also leaves Dortmund fans hopeful of enjoying the kind of instinctive attacking partnership they have arguably not seen since the days of Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - who both wore Black and Yellow between 2013 and 2018.
