Borussia Dortmund starts the season with a 3-0 win: Rätsel at the back, Erling Haaland at the front

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Erling Haaland has not lost his stunner during the summer break

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SASCHA STEINBACH / EPA

The son's advice should be strictly disapproved of in the interests of fair sport.

Dad, James Mockenhaupt recommended to his father Sascha, should Erling Haaland just "run after Haaland and straddle him" in case he escaped.

Mockenhaupt, central defender at SV Wehen Wiesbaden and an avowed BVB fan, played extremely fair, like his colleagues.

Only goalkeeper Florian Stritzel brought Haaland down, which was punished with a penalty and one of three hits by the Norwegian striker.

Haaland went on as if the summer break hadn't even existed.

Anyone who would have wanted to stop him on Saturday evening, especially as a professional in a third division, should have listened to the advice of a child.

Three quarters of the defense chain are missing

Nobody will have been surprised by Haaland's appearance, whose dynamic touches the realm of violence.

On the other hand, it was surprising how smoothly BVB solved a task that previously seemed much more complicated.

Wehen Wiesbaden had already played two championship games, not scoring a goal, but not conceding any.

Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, had a rather complicated preparation behind them, and with the sovereign cup victory the problems are not yet solved.

Julian Brandt is infected with the corona virus, just like Thomas Meunier.

Due to their prescribed isolation, both will be absent from BVB's opening game in the Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

Since Mats Hummels and Raphael Guerreiro will probably need a few more days to heal their injuries, including Meunier, three quarters of the planned back four are missing in the defense.

Only Manuel Akanji is ready for action.

The Swiss played through against Wehen Wiesbaden, although he started preparing late after the European Championship, just like Jude Bellingham.

The Englishman was allowed to leave after just under an hour because the game was decided.

Haaland scored his third goal, it was his 60th in the 60th competitive game for Borussia, already in the 51st minute.

The diamond fits best at the moment

Coach Marco Rose tactically missed the problems in his first competitive game with BVB.

Since with Jadon Sancho an outstanding winger was given to Manchester United, Rose chose a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield as the basic formation.

"You're always outnumbered in the middle, you can play a lot directly," said Marco Reus, who occupied the top of the diamond.

The captain said that the "lack of breadth" could be compensated for by attacking full-backs.

In the short term, the new system seems to be the solution, as the central defenders are simply missing to provide the three-man chain, which Rose also cherishes.

Dan-Axel Zagadou will be out for weeks, the versatile Emre Can is also injured and may return to the squad against Frankfurt.

Rose wants his team to be flexible. The midfield diamond has not been played at BVB for a long time, but seems to suit the team. In addition to a chain of three in defense, the coach could also switch to a 4-2-3-1 or the 4-3-3 preferred in the previous season. The signing of Donyell Malen speaks in favor of the solution with a double top, the Dutchman is not a classic winger like Sancho. Malen made his debut as a substitute against labor, but will still have to improve in terms of fitness.

Reus called the personnel situation a “difficult situation”, with Antonios Papadopoulos defending a player from the second team alongside Akanji.

Under normal circumstances, the 21-year-old entry from Halleschen FC will travel to Wiesbaden again in September with Borussia's U23s, then the game in the third division will be on.

Papadopoulos did his job properly in the DFB Cup, but it was also clear that it should not be enough for the Bundesliga at the moment.

Delaney leaving BVB?

BVB may still sign a defensive player.

First, however, money is to be raised, which could be achieved with a sale of Thomas Delaney.

The Dane, who made it into the semi-finals as a regular at the European Championships, should have a hard time at BVB.

Mahmoud Dahoud confirms his good form in the last half of the season under Rose, he should be in the defensive midfield for the time being.

Axel Witsel is also back.

Delaney's contract is running out, there should be interested parties from England and Italy.

The problems in defense were rarely seen against Wehen Wiesbaden, as Borussia was mostly on the ball or at the latest got it back in midfield.

"We were really hot," said Rose, praising the fact that the defending champion showed the outsider how the roles were distributed right from the start.

"They almost crushed us with their offensive force," confessed Rüdiger Rehm, the coach of the third division team.

Dahoud as strategist, Reus on the ten, Haaland and above all Giovanni Reyna on the left in the diamond played an attractive offensive game against the overwhelmed opponent, from which many opportunities arose because the runs behind the defensive chain of the opponent were sprints.

So often the only thing left to do was to stop BVB.

In the spirit of sport, Mockenhaupt and his colleagues did without.