Three things that stood out at BVB against Besiktas: Free mind, free travel – but Erling Haaland struggles

The sporting value of the encounter between Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas was manageable. Even before the final group game of the Champions League, it was clear that the black and yellow team would hibernate in third place in the Europa League and that the eagles from Istanbul would say goodbye to the European competition completely.

The club from the Bosporus, which had previously lost all five games in the premier class, seamlessly continued its disappointing performances. The home side was hardly confronted with resistance, and a questionable red card sealed the fate of Besiktas prematurely.

Despite his double pack and setting a new record, the Norwegian was annoyed. In addition, a long-term injured celebrated a successful comeback from the starting lineup.

Three things that stood out at Borussia Dortmund against Besiktas Istanbul.

1. Haaland with a new record – and anger in the stomach

There is a possibility that Erling Haaland played his last Champions League game for BVB on Tuesday evening. All European heavyweights are interested in the elemental force from Scandinavia, and hopes of remaining in the Ruhr area are fading.

“We’ll talk for the next few weeks, but we’re not alone in control. There are still advisors,” said Dortmund boss Hans-Joachim Watzke before the match on “Amazon Prime” with a view to Haaland’s future. There is no pressure to negotiate, but they still want clarity as soon as possible.

“It’s all about whether he pulls the clause or not. We will endeavor not to find out until March or April,” continued Watzke. Of course, Dortmund wants to arm itself in the event of the worst, to look for a potential replacement.

The problem: there is no such replacement. As the Joker, Haaland once again demonstrated his unparalleled skills in the few minutes he was involved. As if it were the most natural thing to do, he contributed a double header within 13 minutes, was constantly present, constantly demanding balls.

The 21-year-old has played 19 times in the premier class – the almost utopian scoring: 23. No player was younger than Haaland when he achieved those goals in the Champions League.

Despite the new fable number, Haaland was pissed off: He had left the chance of the hat trick with a score of 5: 0 (87th). Frustrated, he waved his hand on the pitch, apparently he still hadn’t calmed down after the final whistle. “I just met him in the cabin. He was mad at himself,” said captain Marco Reus on “Amazon Prime”. Understandable, Haaland is just “horny for goals”.

2. Free head, free travel

Admittedly, Besiktas was not a yardstick on Tuesday evening. However, also because Dortmund was dominant from the start and implemented what coach Marco Rose had asked for in advance.

It was all about at least making up for the disappointments of the Champions League season so far, about the “prestige”, as Rose said: “We want to straighten a few things.” They did. The counter-pressing worked right from the start, the Borussia switched quickly, regularly setting counter-needle sticks that were well worth seeing.

Technically demanding, the Rose-Elf combined through the opposing defensive line, created a number of good chances to score. The statisticians counted 29 shots. “The Champions League story was not a happy one for us. But it was important to us again today to play a good game. We did that,” the coach analyzed afterwards.

Also captain Marco Reus, next to Haaland an outstanding man with the hosts, stated: “The game was important for us to stay in rhythm. In the first HZ our counter-pressing was outstanding. That’s how we imagined it, that’s how we imagine it before. We just wanted to recharge our batteries. ”

The tenor: Dortmund has decently said goodbye to the Champions League. Anyway.

3. Zagadou celebrates a strong comeback from the starting lineup

After a long period of suffering and a few short appearances, the Frenchman was in the Dortmund starting line-up for the first time this season. It quickly turned out that Besiktas is the perfect opponent to slowly get back on track.

The Turkish offensive made no move to put pressure on the Dortmund gate. Nevertheless, Zagadou made it clear that he is quite suitable as an Akanji substitute. The 22-year-old recorded the most ball actions on the side of the home side (98), won 80 percent of his duels and shone as a passing machine (86 of 92 arrived, 93.5 percent).

“If Manuel Akanji is out, it will of course leave a very, very big gap,” said Rose at the post-game press conference. He added: “But: I think that Dan-Axel Zagadou did a very good job today. He showed that he is back.” There was nothing to add to that.