Are Dortmund better than everyone in Europe (except Barcelona)?
Borussia Dortmund are the second-best team in Germany. Bayern Munich have made sure of that, but what if they were in England? It's hard to argue that they wouldn't best the country's best team and cruising their way to a Premier League title. Hell, there aren't many leagues BVB wouldn't be looking like runaway winners in right now. They might be the second best team in all of the world.
Thomas Tuchel's men are that good, and they showed it against Tottenham Hotspur.
BVB trounced Tottenham and the 3-0 scoreline sold the Germans' domination short. There wasn't an area of the match they weren't superior in and if the scoreboard had read 5-0, no one would have had a problem with it because they were that much better.
Tottenham completed only one pass in the Dortmund box all match, and that one was 15 yards from goal. The Expected Goals tell the tale:
This was all despite Dortmund being far from their best, bungling chances in front of goal, losing a battle with the post and coasting for stretches.
Spurs aren't some Premier League also-ran either, as one might expect from the Europa League. They sit second in the Premier League table and appear the most serious challengers to first place Leicester. Mauricio Pochettino didn't start close to a first team against Dortmund, and that certainly played a huge role, and it wouldn't be wise to put too much stock in a single match, but Dortmund's class isn't limited to Thursday's 90 minutes.
Dortmund play at a speed that nobody in the Premier League can match. It completely overwhelmed Spurs, and it was more than pure pace. The way they press, their triggers, the way they take away passing lanes make it almost impossible to play against them. Bayern Munich found that out on the weekend, when they failed to score and, for large stretches of the match, struggled to string together passes or create chances. Toss in their quick movement with the ball, ability to create space with runs and passing that keeps opposing midfielders running in circles, and you have a constant speed and quickness that few teams in the world can match.
Tottenham couldn't match Dortmund's pace. It's tough to imagine Spurs at full strength doing it either, or, for that matter, Leicester, Arsenal or anyone else in the Premier League because Tuchel has had BVB rolling since the start of the year.
BVB have won six of their eight Bundesliga matches in 2016, drawing the other two in difficult matches against first and third places Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin. Their lone DFB-Pokal match in that time saw them dismiss Stuttgart with ease and they've now rolled past Porto and Tottenham by a combined score of 6-0 in their three Europa League matches.
With the form Dortmund are in, it's fair to ask: are they the second-best team in the world right now?
Barcelona have a firm grasp on the top spot, with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez changing the way we even comprehend the sport, but Bayern Munich have been the consensus No. 2 team and Dortmund look better than them. The two sides played to a draw last weekend and BVB have the better run of results since the winter break. They're winning more convincingly too, and while that's unlikely to be enough to eliminate the five-point lead Bayern hold atop the league, that lead was built in the fall. Dortmund have been better since and it's a shame they won't get a chance to prove it. Still, you would be hard-pressed to take anyone other than Barcelona over Tuchel's side.
And that has Dortmund looking towards next season. Tuchel only took over last summer and while it took him a few months to get his team sorted out, he has certainly done it. Now they will be back in the Champions League, with money to spend from Europe's top club competition, and a full year of familiarity with a young team that is only improving. Bayern Munich also figure to take a step back with Pep Guardiola leaving and the inevitable adjustment period to a new manaer (like the one BVB went through at the start of this season). If they can hold onto their stars like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus - hardly a guarantee at BVB - Dortmund may very well be Bundesliga co-favorites next season and legitimate Champions League contenders.
It wasn't that long ago that Borussia Dortmund were back-to-back Bundesliga winners and in the Champions League final. That was under Jurgen Klopp, since gone to Liverpool, but the constant focus on him may have obscured how stable and successful a club Dortmund had supporting him. Bayern Munich's success, which completely dwarfed BVB and helped relegate them to Bundesliga and European afterthoughts, didn't help either. But despite BVB seeing stars like Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski depart, Bayern Munich's rise and Klopp's magic disappear, here they stand. They are potentially on their way to a Europa league title with even greater heights awaiting them in a year's time.
After all, would you bet against the team that just beat down Spurs, have put a scare in Bayern Munich and have a case as Europe's second best?
xG map for BVB-Spurs. Answering the question, what if you had to play Dortmund but left your midfield at the hotel? pic.twitter.com/aWLdnoe5qM
— Michael Caley (@MC_of_A) March 10, 2016
Thomas Tuchel has BVB back among Europe's elite and it only took him six months.
