There was no doubt that Borussia Dortmund was performing at its absolute best on Saturday afternoon. The Black and Yellows defeated Freiburg 5-1, led by Sebastien Haller’s first competitive goal since recovering from testicular cancer, to continue their excellent start to 2023. Edin Terzic’s team put on a dominant performance, never really looking like they would lose the game. For Borussia Dortmund, Gio Reyna, Karim Adeyemi, Julian Brandt, and Nico Schlotterbeck also scored goals; and several players gave performances that stood out.
Borussia Dortmund will face Chelsea in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, which returns this month. Sebastien Haller, Mahmoud Dahoud, and new signing Julian Ryerson have all been added to the Black and Yellows’ roster for the knockout rounds. All these players will be key in the upcoming UEFA knockout round fixture against English rivals.
If he plays in the knockout rounds, Julian Ryerson, who recently signed with Borussia Dortmund from Union Berlin, will make his UEFA Champions League debut. After receiving a diagnosis of testicular cancer, Sebastien Haller was sidelined for the first half of the season. This is a great chance for other players to shine in a tough encounter coming up. However, he returned to action last month and is now set to play for Borussia Dortmund in his Champions League debut.
After being named to the B-list, highly regarded winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens is also set to make his UEFA Champions League debut. Due to shoulder injuries, Mahmoud Dahoud and Bynoe-Gittens were unable to compete in the CL group stage. The B-list also includes Marlon Zacharias, Youssoufa Moukoko, Lion Semic, Silas Ostrzinski, and Jude Bellingham. These players were born on or after January 1, 2001, and they have been with the team for at least two years.