SC Freiburg arrived in Dortmund looking to challenge Borussia Dortmund for their second win of their Bundesliga season so far. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund looked to rebound from a pair of defeats after losing to Bayern Munich in the DFL Supercup on Wednesday and Augsburg last Saturday. Luckily for Dortmund, they were far more successful in this match, finding the back of the net a total of four times on their way to a 4-0 victory.
This tactical analysis will examine the tactics used by both Lucien Favre and Christian Streich throughout the match. The analysis will examine how Streich set up a compact defensive unit, how Dortmund struggled to play through, and how Dortmund ultimately took advantage of the transitions in order to score.
Lineups
Favre sent his men out in a 3-4-3 with Marwin Hitz in goal. His back three consisted of Emre Can, Mats Hummels, and Manuel Akanji. The two central midfielders were Axel Witsel and Jude Bellingham. Thomas Meunier started on the right flank while Raphaël Guerreiro started on the left. Their front three consisted of Gio Reyna, Marco Reus, and Erling Håland.
Streich sent Freiburg out in a 3-4-3 as well, although they primarily functioned in a more defensive structure, often a 5-2-3. Florian Müller started in goal with Dominique Heintz, Philipp Lienhart, and Manuel Gulde starting as the back three. Baptiste Santamaria and Nicolas Höfler were the central midfielders with Christian Günter to the left and Jonathan Schmid on the right. Nils Petersen started as the striker with Roland Sallai to his right and Lucas Höler to his left.
