A historic cup evening at Borussia-Park and a man who outshone everything: Breel Embolo put on a great show in the sensational win against FC Bayern. What makes the difference between Berlin, Bayern and Bochum.
The man of the evening was beaming from ear to ear, but he didn’t want to make much fuss about his world-class performance. It was a “very good team performance”, Embolo explained, they played “very efficiently” and – of course – “goals against the best team in the world are something very special.” While sporting director Max Eberl (“Breel was great.”) and coach Adi Hütter (“An unbelievable game from Breel.”) raved about the Swiss in the highest terms, the match winner passed on the praise directly. “The whole team did very well, the game was top,” Embolo said. “The important thing is that we win, that we play good football and that we take the fans with us. We managed to do all that. And then also played to nil – a perfect evening for all Borussians.”
Embolo’s cup performance even topped the striker’s gala in the 3-1 win in Wolfsburg, when ex-Borussian Stefan Effenberg ennobled the 24-year-old with the rating “world class”. Why things are going so much better for Embolo against Champions League contenders Wolfsburg and Bayern than in the games against Stuttgart (1:1) and Berlin (0:1) in between is a mystery to many football fans. But there are reasons.
“Breel is an absolute grenade with his power, his speed, his body. “
HÜTTER
Embolo’s qualities are at their best when he is given the spaces he needs to play. Spaces that the record champions, trimmed for dominance, granted. “Bayern stand very high, sometimes in one-on-one. Breel is an absolute grenade with his power, his speed and his body, and he showed that today,” said Hütter. Embolo did not have the same effect as on Wednesday against Stuttgart and Berlin. Both teams stood deep, very compact, there was a lack of space and depth for Embolo to develop his well-known power and dynamism. Of course, the international has already scored goals and set highlights against such opponents. But it will be easier for him if he finds enough space to go into the running duels and start with speed in depth.
The next game at home against VfL Bochum will therefore have a completely different character. The promoted team will also be keen to be well organised at the back so that Borussia can’t play their dangerous switching game like on Wednesday
A changeover also awaits Embolo this weekend
From Borussia’s point of view, we can expect a lot of possession combined with the task of developing solutions. Also for Embolo again a change. “It’s even better for him, of course, if he has space behind the last line. But Breel is a player who can hurt any team,” Hütter stressed. On Sunday, he said, it was not just Embolo who was needed, but the entire Borussia collective. “You have to play a little differently against deep opponents,” said the coach, “we have to find the right solutions to crack an opponent like that. “