Malen magic masks Dortmund deficiencies

Hoffenheim 2 -3 Borussia Dortmund, Rhein-Neckar Arena
(Kramaric 45+1', Rutter 77' - Haaland 6', Reus 58', Raum og' 66')

Three points and three goals against a side just below them, three wins from three against top-half opposition since the Bundesliga's return and three points behind Bayern Munich (for now). For Borussia Dortmund, good things are currently coming in threes.

But injuries to their best forward (Erling Haaland) and best defender (Manuel Akanji), the tame exit to St. Pauli in the German Cup in midweek, and a performance that lacked potency and cohesion  suggest that everything is not quite as rosy as it first appears.

A brilliant one- and two-touch move involving several Dortmund players ended with Haaland turning home Donyell Malen's low, driven cross to give Dortmund a dream start. And then: nothing. Marco Rose's side were passive as Hoffenheim realized they had little to fear, with David Raum consistently finding swathes of open turf behind makeshift rightback Marius Wolf. Marco Reus described it as Dortmund "losing the thread" for a time. 

Playing in moments

It was Andrej Kramaric who finally took advantage, hooking in a cross from the right with Wolf watching on. Dortmund repeated the trick to regain the lead just before the hour, despite making minimal impact on the game, as Marco Reus pounced to slide home from Malen's clever pass. 

That their second goal was their second, and final, shot on target is a demonstration of the paucity of ideas that Dortmund had for large spells of the game. But quality counts, and Malen was in the mood.

Dortmund's big summer signing hasn't quite hit the ground running, but another dangerous low cross turned in by Raum meant that the Dutchman had played the final pass in all three goals. His pace, passing, movement and directness were a threat throughout. Though Georginio Rutter took advantage of more lax Dortmund defending late on, and Sebastian Rudy passed up a golden chance in the dying moments, Malen was the game's decisive figure. 

Question marks

Rose will know that winning games with two shots on target is an uphill struggle for even the tightest of sides. The ease with which Hoffenheim got behind BVB was proof that Dortmund are far from that, as is a record of one Bundesliga clean sheet (against bottom club Greuther Fürth) since late October and a goals conceded tally worse than newly promoted Bochum and Arminia Bielefeld.

In that light, the late injury to Akanji, who made two exceptional sliding blocks to deny clear opportunities, may turn out to be as, or even more, significant as the one sustained by Haaland, who went off clutching his groin after stretching for an interception just after the hour mark.

Injuries have been almost as problematic as consistency for Rose this season, and it's not yet clear how severe the latest ones are. "It's not easy to deliver consistently," Akanji said after the match. "We'd discussed that we need to play as a team more when things aren't going so well, and today was a good step forward in that regard."

For a team that have often been accused of failing to deliver at the right times, it was indisputably a significant victory. But the performance, and the injuries, are a cause of some concern.