The zero has fallen: BVB summer newcomer Donyell Malen scored his first Bundesliga goal in the 2-1 win over VfB Stuttgart For his coach Marco Rose, however, the Dutchman set a new “benchmark “
for another reason.
If the crowd of 57,900 at Signal Iduna Park hadn’t been so loud, you might have been able to hear the stone that fell from Donyell Malen’s heart to the ground in the 56th minute of BVB’s match against Stuttgart. Thanks to a strong individual performance and a good portion of luck, the Dutchman broke the spell with his first Bundesliga goal for an interim 1-0 lead right in front of the Dortmund fans in the South Stand – and visibly relaxed afterwards, he cheered with his teammates.
“My first goal in the Bundesliga – that makes me very happy, “ said the 22-year-old after the match, which BVB won 2-1 thanks to Marco Reus’ counter-attacking goal. “It’s a great feeling to score right in front of the yellow wall. It gives me a boost. “ And it eased the pressure that had recently been on the international’s shoulders after not only the media and fans, but also Dortmund officials had voiced criticism of him and his performances for BVB so far.
Donny was very active against the ball and with the ball, he invested a lot. That’s the most important thing.
First and foremost, coach Marco Rose had called for a different “mindset “ from Malen. The fast attacker had to learn to take a more active part in the game, not just wait for finishes, in order to get into better situations. The game against Stuttgart gave the impression that Malen had listened well. He didn’t manage to do everything against VfB, but especially at the beginning of the game, he kept following up well, let himself go and created a good chance to head home – which he missed from the best position.
“Donny was very active against the ball and with the ball, he invested a lot. That’s the most important thing,” Rose praised him after the game, deliberately not focusing on his goal. But with his warm words he also made a clear demand of the Dutchman: “That was a benchmark for Donny today.
The bar is now higher
The bar is now a little higher for Malen, whose performance up front will be particularly important in the absence of Erling Haaland, who is making progress in his rehab but still needs some time.
