The great love between Erling Haaland and Borussia Dortmund seems to have died out, but the interplay against Wolfsburg was nevertheless outstanding.
Who the credit for his first goal belonged to, Erling Haaland made clear immediately: applauding Ostentatiously, the Norwegian walked up to the two set-pieces Marco Reus and Julian Brandt after scoring the 5-0 goal and acknowledged their delivery to end a fifteen-minute BVB firework display.
422 minutes the usually consistent striker had not scored for BVB before, the comparative ease of slotting into the orphaned Wolfsburg goal broke the spell that was none. Even before that, it was obvious that Haaland was much more involved in the game than in other recent appearances: Again and again, he dropped in, made balls firm and served as a wall player and for the advancing attacking back four with the towering wing-backs Tom Rothe and Marius Wolf as well as the double ten Brandt and Reus.
It’s no longer quite the great love affair between the club and its star recruit, the South Stand, packed for the second time, no longer celebrated the attacker’s actions quite so enthusiastically. The relationship, which had cooled somewhat due to the player’s obvious desire to switch, now resembles more of a partnership of convenience, but it harmonised brilliantly against Wolfsburg – not only in the 5-0 win, but also in the sixth goal after the break, when Haaland was once again at the end of a chain of combinations from Reus and Brandt and, in his familiar humourless manner, put the ball into the net with his left foot.
No diagnosis: Haaland doesn’t want to have pictures taken
And that, although he is actually only fit for action to a limited extent. “He already has problems with his ankle, we are in constant exchange,” Marco Rose reported after the game: “It’s getting better, but he is not pain-free.” Even before the game, the coach had revealed that his striker was still carrying the injury from the international match against Armenia, but that an exact diagnosis was missing because Haaland didn’t want to take any pictures: “We can’t put the boy in the tube if he doesn’t want that for himself.”
Whether out of sporting ambition or calculation with a view to the upcoming transfer in the summer – the professional grits his teeth and proved against the Lower Saxons on Saturday that the injury obviously does not hinder him. “You could see today that he can tolerate the pain very well,” Rose found.
No interested party has yet contacted BVB
Despite his recent dry spell, the 21-year-old does not need a big application in the form of goals for his sporting prospects in Spain or England. BVB has not yet received any interest, future sporting director Sebastian Kehl reported on Sky before the match against Wolfsburg, but due to the exit clause in the summer, this will only be necessary at a later date anyway. For the club, a timely decision on the player would be important for their own transfer plans, and there is also a deadline for the clause. “We want a decision as soon as possible,” says Kehl.
