Posted by Coming into this Revierderby, which marked the end of the Bundesliga’s two-month COVID-19 suspension, much of the talk was centered on Dortmund’s deadly attacking duo of Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland. Even though he only turned 20 in March, Sancho registered 14 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga before the suspension in play. Meanwhile, the 19-year old Haaland hit the ground running after his $21.6 million move from RB Salzburg in January. The lanky Norwegian was averaging a goal every 61 minutes in all competitions with Dortmund and was the Bundesliga’s top scorer in 2020 with 9 goals.
Haaland made his seventh league start for the Black and Yellows against their fierce local rivals on Saturday at an empty Westfalenstadion, but Sancho was surprisingly left on the bench. Without the tricky Englishmen or club legend Marco Reus, head coach Lucien Favre deployed Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard in attack along with Haaland. In his first campaign with Dortmund after signing from Borussia Mönchengladbach last summer, Hazard has stepped out of older brother Eden’s shadow, with his 10 assists tied for fourth-best in the league.
Meanwhile, fellow summer signing Brandt was struggling to justify his $25 million price tag. Long touted as one of Germany’s best young talents, Brandt moved from Bayer Leverkusen to the Black and Yellows after collecting eight league assists in a spellbinding second half of 2018-19. Before the Schalke match, however, Brandt had only three goals and two assists in the Bundesliga over 24 appearances this campaign.
On Saturday, Brandt was given license to drift across the forward line or even deep into midfield from his starting position on the left. Although Schalke were the better of the two sides in the first few minutes, they were opened up repeatedly as the first half wore on, with holes appearing down the left side of their defense. With 29 minutes played, Brandt exploited this weakness to create the opening goal. After taking up an intelligent position in the inside-right channel, Brandt’s inventive flick forward for Hazard allowed the Belgian to cross first-time for Haaland, who opened his body sublimely to side foot past visiting keeper Markus Schubert.
Before the COVID-19 stoppage, Schalke had gone seven league matches without a win. Rather than helping to restore confidence and spirit, the two-month absence had a detrimental effect that was evidenced by the way the Royal Blues wilted after conceding the 1-0. Easy passes began to go astray, and any semblance of defensive organization disappeared. With his tail up after his involvement in the opener, Brandt provided two assists either side of halftime to put the match away. First, a clever reverse pass found the overlapping run of left-wing back Raphaël Guerreiro, who blasted low past a beleaguered Schubert. Just three minutes into the second half, Brandt conducted a rapid counterattack before slotting a perfectly weighted through ball for Hazard to finish powerfully with his right foot.
With the match fully under control, Dortmund chose to sit deep and soak up Schalke’s fleeting threats of a consolation goal. Nevertheless, the home side still found time to get a fourth, when Guerreiro got his second goal of the match after more impressive work from Brandt in the buildup. From there, BVB hardly broke a sweat as they controlled possession and toyed with their opponents until the final whistle.
Although he took a back seat to Brandt’s scintillating performance in this match, Haaland burnished his sterling reputation with a goal and the assist for Guerreiro’s second half strike. In Haaland and Sancho, Dortmund possesses two of the highest-rated young players in the world. This summer, both will be top targets for the world’s richest clubs.
Even in a deflated market, Haaland and Sancho can both command fees in excess of 100 million euros ($108 million), which would represent huge profit for Dortmund. Recent rumors indicate that BVB will listen to offers for Sancho, who has been heavily courted by Manchester United and other Premier League giants. Although Haaland seems less likely to move, Real Madrid, Barcelona or one of the Premier League aristocrats could try to tempt Dortmund into a sale.
As Brandt’s showing on Saturday demonstrates, Dortmund has considerable attacking depth, which would serve them well if they chose to sell one or both of Sancho and Haaland this summer. Unless Dortmund receive an offer that they cannot refuse for Sancho or Haaland, they would be wise to hold onto both players. Potential buyers will be able to pay even higher fees in coming windows as the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 abates. Furthermore, Haaland and Sancho are key components of a young Dortmund side that has the ability to challenge for domestic and European honors in the years to come. Haaland and Sancho will leave eventually, but Dortmund should wait until they have lifted silverware in Black and Yellow before sanctioning any move.
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