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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Is Sancho's finishing finally coming back down to Earth? Per Stats Perform, that's 1.26 xG from him alone today.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Totally dominant, boring, un-Dortmund-esque performance from Dortmund. The chat made the match way more fun than it actually was. Thanks, as always, for participating, you guys. Hope you're all hanging in there. Enjoy your Saturdays.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

This guy Morey has had some nice moments. Wonder what he thinks about Hong Kong

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

I would prefer the sound of rain to the sound of the fake crowd.

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

There is basically no fake crowd noise RN, which I think accurately captures the feel of this game.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

"And a low goal probability, just 12 percent" says the announced. Twelve percent is pretty much the average goal probability of every shot in the Big Five leagues.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

*announcer

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

The announcer just described a pass that went out of bounds from Grujic as "bisected the space between two players there".

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El Pibe's avatar

He needs to bisect the Dortmund goalie and one of the posts

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

The two players being both goalkeepers?

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Here is my stats-based take on the match I'm still unable to watch. Tell me if I'm wrong: Dortmund are dominating possession and camping out in the final third, but they haven't been able to move the ball into the area. Everything builds up down the left side for them. Hertha, meanwhile, have been, like, half-dangerous on a couple of their possessions, but they just never have the ball.

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Scott Dangler's avatar

More or less

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

It's worth adding that all of the "camping" is being done by fullbacks. If Sancho wasn't fat and Hazard was...the other Hazard this might actually work. But they aren't, so the fullbacks are basically sitting on the ball accomplishing nothing.

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Hans's avatar

I feel like there's been a lot of Hakimi on the ball thus far, but mostly into the final third.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Looking at Dortmund's bench, it seems like we should get an extended Gio Reyna appearance today.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

I'm mad that my stream isn't frozen anymore.

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Rick Mahan's avatar

Emrerging as a player that Can do it all

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Justin Koch's avatar

Impressive defensive showing.

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Scott Dangler's avatar

Hakimi at CF

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Solid 0.18 xG from Hertha Berlin thus far.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

My FS2 stream is frozen. Anything could be happening right now.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Still frozen. Great stuff. Sorry guys.

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

You are missing a remarkable amount of nothing. A team with ~4 CBs and no striker is attacking a team that is perfectly happy letting them do that, to predictable results.

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

Hertha are maintaining a long stretch of possession just in front of the halfway line while Dortmund drop back and defend in numbers.

OK perhaps not ANYTHING.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Axel Witsel never passes the ball forward. I love it.

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Juan Castillo's avatar

What do the analytics say about Witsel? I understand that a lot of what he does may have value over the course of 90 minutes/a full season, but I never feel like he moves the needle when I watch him

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

He's in one of the tougher-to-quantify positions, but basically what you get from him is average-to-slightly-above-average production across the board, little valuable passing, and someone who never loses the ball.

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Brenton's avatar

How are you quantifying value here?

I enjoy his composure.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

In terms of his passing? He makes very few passes -- especially compared to other players at his position -- into areas of the field that significantly increase his team's chances of scoring a goal.

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Brenton's avatar

I'm assuming that's not what his coach wants him to do.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

He had a similar profile in China, too.

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Juan Castillo's avatar

Definitely matches the eye test. His lack of valuable passing definitely seems to go hand-in-hand with never losing the ball. Thankfully Delaney is more than capable of advancing the ball forward

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Hans's avatar

My FIFA-warped brain can never unsee him in a Zenit shirt

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

Who needs EBH when you have Can?

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Scott Dangler's avatar

They use the same hair product I think

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Scott Dangler's avatar

Brandt as a false 9 type striker makes more sense than Hazard up front like last week

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Hans's avatar

The people want Reyna

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

It's time!

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Hans's avatar

Brandt noooooooo

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Hans's avatar

Brandt goes and does something like that (header pass), and TOTALLY REDEEMS HIMSELF

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Hans's avatar

Sancho noooooooooo

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Basically the first shot he's missed in two years.

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

There is going to be a crater after these quarantine matches, if he even manages to get the shots...

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

You're forgetting the hat trick from last weekend...

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Cousin_Drew's avatar

Imma be honest I completely forgot there were even matches last weekend after Bayern Dortmund.

Leave it to Paderborn to let a 19 year old with basically no fitness score a hat trick lol.

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Hans's avatar

Not wrong. But that's some unfulfilled xG, is all.

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Stephen W's avatar

So I think the reverse Ryan curse struck today, no chat for the Bayern game, so Goretzka gets a goal and an assist.

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

I saw a tweet that called him "the driving force" behind Muller and Lewandowski. He completed like 14 passes. Smh.

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Stephen W's avatar

Per his profile on the Bundesliga site he’s completing 88% of his passes- which is not what I would have guessed. Guess it’s easier to complete a higher percentage with a small sample size...

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Justin Koch's avatar

Very important to see how the defense holds up without Hummels today

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Hans's avatar

Can at CB is... interesting

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Always looked great there for Liverpool.

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Rhett's avatar

Plus, everyone loves a good thunder run out of the back

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Hans's avatar

Not in a back 3 though. Has he been doing it at all before this for Dortmund?

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Justin Koch's avatar

Not really, but he hasn't really had the chance to yet anyway. He only arrived in January and hasn't been completely healthy since then.

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Rhett's avatar

Where’s Sam? Need that bet so we know how the game will go

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Hans's avatar

It's Dortmund -1. I always imagine and believe Sam is out there, picking spreads beyone hope, whether he updates us or not #teamsam

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Reed Cahill's avatar

Is Sancho one of the more coveted EPL prospects in awhile being English w Brexit and domestic player roster requirements?

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Rick Mahan's avatar

I feel like he would be one of the more covered prospects regardless, but i guess that's an added bonus

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Yeah, he's in the Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney group, but given those other factors -- and the fact that he's legit been world-class since the moment he stepped on the field in Germany -- he might be the most coveted English prospect ... ever.

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Reed Cahill's avatar

Has there ever been such a big English prospect not already playing in England at some level? nobody I can think of since I’ve been a soccer fan (‘05)

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Scott Dangler's avatar

Holy Sancho footwork

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Scott Dangler's avatar

Favre-ing in progress

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Scott Dangler's avatar

Guerrero in such great form the last few months

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Hans's avatar

Anyone catch the end of Leipzig-Paderborn? That was good old-fashioned man-down fun

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Hans's avatar

Eeek Guerriero that free kick. Is Dortmund good at set pieces?

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Hans's avatar

There was the Can thunder run, he collided with the CB at the 20 yard mark lol

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Hans's avatar

This will be my first extensive Grujic viewing in like 3 years

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Scott Dangler's avatar

Also, watching Emre Can "run" makes MY legs hurt

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

He runs like someone who's having a dream about himself not being able to run. (Feel free to read way too much into that.)

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Scott Dangler's avatar

Wonderful analogy

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El Pibe's avatar

Hertha has been playing well in the last couple of games. Expecting big things today against Dortmund

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Ryan O'Hanlon's avatar

Lifetime fan?

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El Pibe's avatar

Went to Berlin back in 2013, had a pork knuckle sandwich, fell in love

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Hans's avatar

Who should we be looking at specifically? I know very little about Hertha, curious who you like the most

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El Pibe's avatar

Ibesevic ip top is pretty solid so is griujic in the midfield . Ha this team has piatek and an old Salomon kalou riding the bench

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