The abject performance by Dortmund against Arsenal at the Emirates in the last Champions League matchday showed the extent of the Ruhr side's performance. They could no longer blame silly errors and bad luck. They had stopped believing. Jürgen Klopp looked dejected and out of words on the sidelines. This weekend, Borussia Dortmund, having been bottom coming into the fourteenth set of fixtures in the Bundesliga, finally conjured up a win. It was fitting that the win came on a day when so much resembled former glory days.
The back four of Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer started together for the first time since the UEFA Champions League Final of 2013. Hummels looked assured as team captain; he helped Subotic improve on the day. Ilkay Gündogan orchestrated play in midfield; nobody was sure when the midfielder of Turkish origins would ever return but he finally has. After a few mediocre games, he resembled the Gündogan of old; he added a winning goal to a masterful performance on the day.
Dortmund almost gave away a penalty towards the end but were relieved when referee Felix Zwayer whistled for play to continue. The one eye-catching change that Klopp made however was in the goalkeeping position. Roman Weidenfeller has not always looked sure of himself this season. In came Australian back-up keeper, Mitch Langerak. Langerak most memorably played for Dortmund against Bayern in a 1-3 victory. He did not have too much to do and it remains to be seen whether Klopp will stick with him in goal.
With the wind finally in their sails, Klopp's side will take on Anderlecht. Dortmund needs just one point to guarantee top spot in the group. They beat Anderlecht by three goals in the reverse fixture and should not have too much difficulty in achieving the same result. If they do not win, the result against Hoffenheim, as valuable as it was in the Bundesliga's relegation battle, will not have the impact it is expected to have. Momentum is extremely important for Dortmund at the moment. They have to make winning a habit again.
Interested in learning how you can watch the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League? Check out our UEFA Champions League Multi-Platform Broadcast Guide.
Borussia Dortmund vs Anderlecht team sheets
Dortmund's lineup: Langerak, Durm, Subotic, Ginter, Schmelzer, Sahin, Gündogan, Großkreutz, Kagawa, Mkhitaryan, Immobile
Anderlecht lineup: Proto, N'Sakala, Deschacht, Praet, Acheampong, Kljestan, Conte, Mbemba, Dendoncker, Vanden Borre, Mitrovic.
Dortmund's subs: Weidenfeller, Bender, Jojic, Kirch, Kuba, Aubameyang, Ramos.
Anderlecht subs: Colin, Cyriac, Heylen, Tielemans, Roef, Kawaya, Kabasele.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
