Mkhitaryan magic as Borussia Dortmund prey on familiar Schalke weaknesses

Given that he was fluent in five languages even before he arrived in north-west Germany this summer, it is little surprise that Henrikh Mkhitaryan has settled so quickly at Borussia Dortmund. On his Rivierderby debut, the Armenian midfielder completed a fantastic week on a personal and team level in Saturday afternoon’s win over deadly rivals Schalke. Mkhitaryan provided 2 assists as part of a stellar display, having already bagged the opening goal in Tuesday’s Champions League win at Arsenal.

Jens Keller’s team were simply left looking tongue-tied. Dortmund began the afternoon – and the whole campaign, in fact – needing to answer questions over their ability to genuinely compete on a domestic and continental level at the same time. While Schalke’s performance was full of desire, it saw them make the same old mistakes that have undermined them time and again, most recently in their own Champions League campaign, when they were beaten by Chelsea on the same night that North London was full of black and yellow frolic. Jürgen Klopp and his players showed they have learned plenty on their own journey, making a few small but very significant changes in their approach to Arsenal and Schalke respectively.

On the surface, it seems like a case of two consummate away performances. The possession stats certainly suggest this. Dortmund had 42% possession in Saturday’s match, following on from 43% at the Emirates. There is no doubt that Klopp’s men are built to counter, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.

The plan to combat Arsenal was a very modern one. Klopp made his players press high, aiming to contain The Gunners by hemming them in. The most significant change the coach made for the return to Bundesliga action was the decision to bring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back into the XI, replacing Jakub Blaszczykowski – essentially, an out-and-out forward for a player who sometimes resembles an auxiliary right-back, especially when dovetailing with his fellow Poland international Lukasz Piszczek.

This seemed like Klopp loosening his metaphorical tie and treating himself to a bit of fun. In fact, Aubameyang played a fairly altruistic role in keeping with Dortmund’s plan on his way to a WhoScored rating of 8.5 – sitting deeper and being patient, with Schalke always susceptible to a counter-attack. WhoScored’s average player positions for the game show Aubameyang not just in a deeper position than Blaszczykowski occupied at Arsenal on Tuesday, but consistently further back than both full-backs – Kevin Grosskreutz and Marcel Schmelzer – as well as Lars Bender, Nuri Sahin and Mkhitaryan. This can be partly attributed to a plan to get Aubameyang to use his ferocious pace in bursting from a deep position down the right too, of course, but it also tells us that Klopp recognised the need for Dortmund to pace themselves. Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus, Mkhitaryan, Sahin and Blaszczykowski were all typically positioned in the opposition half at Arsenal, as opposed to just Lewandowski, Reus and sometimes Mkhitaryan at the Veltins Arena.

Clearly this change demanded a slightly wider set of duties from Aubemayang than he would normally have to fulfil, but he did them very well, making 4 tackles during the game. Only Schalke’s Atsuto Uchida and Julian Draxler (5 each) made more. Tellingly, the home side’s left-sided duo of Sead Kolasinac and Christian Fuchs had very limited influence. Kolasinac succeeded with just 57% of his passes and Fuchs with 53%, and they didn’t manage a key pass between them. When one considers Fuchs’ 5 assists in 23 starts last season, it is clear what a vital job Aubambeyang did for his team.

Adaptation has been the name of the game for Mkhitaryan too. With Ilkay Gündogan injured and his nominal replacement Sahin more disposed to conducting from deep, Mkhitaryan has been forced to burst into the final third from deeper positions, as is his assumed role as Mario Götze’s replacement. Reus’ habit of tucking in behind Lewandowski also informs this set-up.

Mkhitaryan thrived to spectacular effect in the derby. He created the second and third goals, carrying the ball over a considerable distance on both occasions before delivering the final pass. As well as his 2 assists, Mkhitaryan’s 47 passes included the defence-splitter that allowed Reus to lay on the opener for Aubameyang. Thanks to him, both of Dortmund’s attempts on the counter-attack resulted in goals.

Having succumbed twice to goals on the break against Chelsea, you have to wonder where Schalke go from here. They have undisputedly picked up since the arrival of Kevin-Prince Boateng but with the Ghanaian only just making this game after a knee injury and then missing a penalty, they look a touch one-dimensional. As Keller’s team showed previously this season against Bayern Munich and Chelsea, they lack the class and tactical intelligence to threaten the very best.

For Mkhitaryan, it’s onwards and upwards as he now tallies now 3 goals and 3 assists in the Bundesliga. He’s also producing 2.4 key passes per game. Klopp will be delighted that his star signing is showing signs of becoming the main man in Europe too. As well as that crucial goal at the Emirates, Mkhitaryan is averaging 1.7 key passes per game in the Champions League, a marked jump from his average of 1 with Shakhtar Donetsk in the same competition last season.

Despite some big-name departures in recent seasons, Dortmund are showing themselves to be capable of progression and reinvention – something their local rivals would greatly benefit from. They may be separated by only 40 kilometres, but Schalke and Dortmund are light years apart at the moment.