Borussia Dortmund players declared Saturday’s Bundesliga match against second-place RB Leipzig as “indicatory” of the direction their season would take. Just mathematically speaking, a loss would have meant a nine-point deficit to the fizzy-drink manufacturers. The 3-1 wins means that the Black and Yellows are back in touching distance with Nagelsmann’s side.
Fbref.com‘s Adam Darowski highlights in a video what made Dortmund’s win so special. Especially in the second half, BVB overwhelmed the hosts with an aggressive style of pressing. Unsurprisingly, this is reflected by the numbers.
253 pressures against RB Leipzig are 36 more than the second-highest 217 against Club Brugge in the Champions League. But it was not just about quantity. The season high of 101 successful pressures is an improvement of 36 to the second-best (65). This led to a whooping 28 interceptions. The unrelenting pressure helped Edin Terzic’s side score one quarter of Leipzig’s now 12 conceded league goals.
One of the reasons for BVB’s spike in (successful) pressures compared to previous showings was undoubtedly the introduction of Emre Can after half an hour. The German international replaced Axel Witsel, who had suffered a torn Achilless tendon.
Personal season highs in pressures were also set by Raphael Guerreiro (17), Manuel Akanji (17), Mats Hummels (19), Thomas Delaney (29), Giovanni Reyna (32) and Marco Reus (44!).
The team captain did not only post two assists in what arguably was his best performance of the season thus far. His 44 pressures rank him ninth-best across Europe’s top 5 leagues tied with Lucas Deaux and Toni Kroos.
Sven Schipplock, elite pressurer of men. This is most pressures in a single match across the top 5 leagues this season in the @fbref database—thanks to @DanHirsch for checking on Reus’ placement for me! pic.twitter.com/jsVUwjkIai
— Adam Darowski (@fussballtwit) January 11, 2021
