As Celtic put five past Falkirk last weekend their upcoming UEFA Champions League opponents Borussia Dortmund conceded the same number against Stuttgart.
The latter result was a shock for the Bundesliga side who’d previously won two league games and drawn one, causing new manager Nuri Sahin to say he never wants to see a performance like that again.
Dortmund fans were expectedly disappointed with their comprehensive loss, with many supporters highlighting their side’s pressing – or lack thereof – as a key component of the defeat.
Sharing their frustrations on the Borussia Dortmund sub Reddit, one user said: “I have noticed several games now that we press high with a couple of players but the defensive line/midfielders don’t really move up as well. That has to be intentional but it looks terrible and also doesn’t work at all in my opinion.”
Another agreed: “Wingers is the only position where we are stacked. You can’t press leaving a hole between forwards and midfielders, no, it doesn’t work. You [need to] be right and move as a team.”
“What I don’t get is we saw excellent press earlier in the season with the friendly against Aston Villa (yes I know it’s a friendly) and the game against Frankfurt,” shared another. “The press should be getting better with more time together, not worse.
User freefallingagain suggested Dortmund’s perceived pressing problem can be traced all the way back to when Jurgen Klopp departed the club back in 2015.
“It’s more to do with legacy training systems,” they said. “When Klopp left there was a disjointed defensive response between those trained by him to press and those who joined after.”
An integral part of Brendan Rodgers’ style of play is, of course, a high-intensity press and counter-press – something the Celtic manager has stressed at many junctures this season, last season, and throughout his first spell in charge between 2016 and 2019.
Both teams won their first Champions League league phase matches – Dortmund beat Club Brugge 3-0 away from home, while Celtic won 5-1 against Slovan Bratislava at Parkhead – however it’s Celtic who will likely expect a different game in Germany.
Still, Rodgers is confident he now has the squad and talent to hold their own against European football’s biggest names. And if they can press the game with the same intensity as they did against the Slovak champions, then who knows what next week’s Matchday Two encounter might hold.
Between times, Dortmund prepare for the visit of VfL Bochum on Friday night before hosting Celtic at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday in the Champions League. Celtic, on the other hand, travel to St Johnstone on Saturday evening before heading to Germany.
