The early and injury-related substitution of Mahmoud Dahoud led to a break in Borussia Dortmund’s game last Saturday. At the end of the match against Werder Bremen, the result was a 2:3 defeat – also because substitute Emre Can could not replace Dahoud.
On the roof of Mahmoud Dahoud’s home in Dortmund, there is a small rectangle that looks like the dream of every football-loving boy and girl: their own little football pitch, bordered with nets and boards. How often the 26-year-old uses it in everyday life is not exactly documented. But it shows how much the BVB midfielder enjoys playing with the ball.
His game benefits from this – especially when he works together with coach Edin Terzic. That was already the case during their first time together, when Terzic was in charge of Borussia on an interim basis. And it’s the same again this season, when the Dortmund football coach is officially the boss on the sidelines on a long-term basis. Unsurprisingly, Dahoud has been in Dortmund’s starting eleven in all four competitive matches so far.
Against Bremen (2:3), however, the German international, who is still hoping to take part in the World Cup in Qatar, had to leave the pitch early after unfortunately dislocating his shoulder in an aerial duel with Leonardo Bittencourt in the 16th minute. And Dahoud’s absence was keenly felt in the remaining time of the game – partly because Emre Can, who came on as a substitute for him, could not fulfil Dahoud’s role one-to-one.
Terzic hopes for Dahoud’s quick return
Dahoud’s game of creating spaces with quick body turns, opening up passing lanes and distributing the ball does not match the forceful manner in which Can performs. Dortmund’s game therefore slowed down, the transport of the ball to the wings faltered, and they lost the ball in their own build-up play. As a result, Bremen became more and more dominant – even if BVB already looked like the sure winner in the 89th minute due to a more than fortunate 2:0 lead, before three late goals brought the turnaround for the guests.
“In the first minutes we left the paths very wide for Werder – Mo was an important factor for that, because he always found the outfield defenders well and he is always able to stay safely on the ball even in tight situations,” said Terzic after the match, expressing the hope “that he will be ready for action again quickly”. And that should be justified, as no serious injury has been diagnosed so far.
Since newcomer Salih Özcan is also likely to have made up for the physical shortfall he accumulated in the preparation due to a persistent bruise, Terzic will also have another alternative for the six-man position for the important match at Hertha BSC next Saturday.