Borussia Dortmund – Paris Saint-Germain: Håland Nets Two To Propel Dortmund Past Disorderly PSG (2-1)

A perplexing formation change from Thomas Tuchel gave way to a confused Paris Saint-Germain performance, as Europe’s most potent offense sputtered away from home. The disorderly guests allowed Dortmund to ply their trade on the counterattack and lean on the dynamism of their young striker. 

Tactical analysis and match report by K.T. Stockwell.

Heading into their clash with PSG, Dortmund had been smashing home the goals domestically. The acquisition of 19-year-old Erling Braut Håland in the January window had made Lucien Favre’s already potent offense even more fearsome. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the defensive side of the game where BVB were routinely embarrassed. 

Nonetheless, Dortmund’s latest Bundesliga engagement against Frankfurt finished 4-0, handing Favre his first clean sheet since the start of January. With that in mind, the Dortmund manager stuck with the same eleven, in his preferred 3-4-3 formation, against PSG on Tuesday night. The lineup consisted of Łukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels and Dan-Axel Zagadou at center-back – protected by a double pivot 4-2-3-1 is one of the most frequently occurring formations in football. The two most defensive midfielders are called a ‘double pivot’. of Axel Witsel and Emre Can. Flanking the midfield tandem were wing-backs Raphäel Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi, while Jadon Sancho, Håland and Thorgan Hazard formed the formidable front line. 

Not to be outdone, PSG have been dominating Ligue 1, in large part thanks to a decision from manager Thomas Tuchel to switch to a 4-2-2-2 formation; wherein the German is able to field his bevy of . . .