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A pass with the outside instep, played sharply forward exactly in the foot of the teammate. Also for Borussia Dortmund brought Mats Hummels back from Bayern Munich. The colleague jumped the ball but far from the foot. A technical mistake, as he should not subvert any top striker. But Paco Alcácer has also not been obliged to shine in the combination game. If he succeeds, that is pleasant for BVB - but first and foremost the Spaniard should score goals.
On 14 September 2018 Alcácer was successful for the first time in the Bundesliga, until his first goal went only 21 minutes. Exactly one year later the Spaniard met again. It was his 30th game in the Bundesliga and his 23rd goal: Achraf Hakimi flanked from the right side, Alcácer sat down from Jonathan Tah, holding out his foot and shot to 1-0. It was the fifth goal of the season for the man who demoted Mario Götze to bench-press.
FRIEDEMANN BIRD / EPA-EFE / REX
Bayer goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on the ground - and Alcácer turns after his leadership goal to cheers
Alcácer's goal laid the foundation for the 4-0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen. The Spaniard was also involved in the second goal, although his contribution is not listed in any statistics: Alcácer passed through Jadon Sancho's cross so that Marco Reus could finish from a better position.
A few minutes before his strike, Alcácer had lost a running duel against Tah - hopeless. But in his oasis of well-being, the penalty area, he was faster, above all mentally. "He is a fantastic player who has his qualities in front of goal," said Julian Brandt about the colleague, who is rather taciturn in public, at least in Germany.
In his homeland Alcácer spoke a few days ago with the newspaper "Sport". When asked if he was currently in the best phase of his career, he said, "That can be, the numbers speak for it."
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Dortmund win against Leverkusen: Four winsThey do. In all eight competitive games this season for BVB and the Spanish national team met Francisco Alcácer Garcia, called "Paco" - a total of ten times. In the Bundesliga he cheered since September 2018 on average every 67 minutes.
The numbers impress. But there is also the statistics from the Champions League. In the premier league of European football reach Alcácer in just over 1000 minutes only two goals, one for the BVB, one for FC Barcelona.
In the premier class against the ex-club
These two teams meet on Tuesday (21 clock, live ticker SPIEGEL) to start the Champions League in Dortmund on each other. From 2016 to 2018 Alcácer played in the Catalan metropolis, 15 times he met in 50 games. There he was only substitute for Luis Suárez, injuries threw back Alcácer, who was trained at Valencia, always back.
"I try to remember the positive things and leave the negative ones behind," said Alcácer "Sport" about his former club, who would be the favorite in Dortmund even if Lionel Messi still failed because of an injury.
"We are confident in the game, but also with a lot of respect," said Thomas Delaney after BVB's victory over Leverkusen. The Dane was together with Axel Witsel in the defensive midfield, the guarantor of the significant success, even if he was involved in any goal directly. At Leverkusen Kai Havertz and Karim Bellarabi remained below their ability, center forward Kevin Volland brought no shot on goal.
On the one hand, one in - that was the balance sheet of Paco Alcácer, who now wants to improve his statistics against Barça in the Champions League. He was fetched for goals.
