No Dembele? No Problem: Talking Points from Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Wolfsburg

Borussia Dortmund outclassed Wolfsburg 3-0 to kick off their Bundesliga campaign in style. Goals from Bartra, Pulisic and Aubameyang were enough for a convincing victory for Bosz’s men.

Teen sensation Pulisic opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, as he fired a strike from the edge of the box after being teed up by Mario Gotze, who started his first match in months. Marc Bartra then scored the second of the day as he scored a curler out of nowhere. He took the keeper by surprise as he scored a beautiful goal from a tight angle. Aubameyang then scored the third goal at the hour mark as he converted Pulisic’s drilled pass at the far post to round off a remarkable evening and a perfect league start for Peter Bosz’s Dortmund reign.

Here are the Major Talking Points from the match:

No Dembele? No Problem

Peter Bosz’s men were still without the suspended Dembele but didn’t really have any problems in attack as they still managed to score three goals, dispatching a hapless Wolfsburg side. They ran riot and could’ve scored another one as Kagawa failed to have a contact with the ball in the final minute. Dortmund won’t really miss Dembele but need a reliable replacement for their European quest. With the return of Kagawa and Reus and Schurrle still yet to return, there is an ample of talent at Bosz’s disposal.

Pulisic Steps Up

American teenager Christian Pulisic stepped up to fill in Dembele’s shoes as he scored an emphatic goal and also set up Aubameyang in the second half. He became Dortmund’s youngest foreign topscorer as he scored his 6th Bundesliga goal in the match. Being circled by major European clubs, Dortmund have a task on their hand to keep hold of their star player, who will be fundamental in their title chances this season.

Wolfsburg need to Reboot

Wolfsburg didn’t have the best of starts to their league campaign, but you get a feeling that they could’ve had a decent result had they not lost focus at key times. Their manager has tried and tested the new system and last week’s DFL Cup win shows they will surely have a decent season ahead. They just need to be back on track against Eintracht next week and if possible should recruit a defender and a defensive midfielder before the transfer window shuts down in just over a week.

Relief over Gotze and Kagawa

The match saw Mario Gotze start his first match in months. He was ruled out in January for an indefinite period with a metabolic disturbance, but his show on his exciting return was impressive, as he even managed to bag an assist. He was hauled off at the hour mark, but has shown that he can be a key player this season. Kagawa then came on for the final five minutes as he stepped up his recovery and improved his match fitness, having only recently returned from a shoulder fracture that had ruled him out for about four months. He even almost scored a goal but failed to make contact with a cross in the dying moments of the match. The return of two key players to the squad would be a major boost to Bosz’s men, who’ve experienced a blow to their team harmony in recent days over the Dembele saga.