Best Team Performances, Dec 10: Dortmund destroy Dusseldorf
Dortmund made it two consecutive Bundesliga victories after demolishing Dusseldorf 5-0 on Saturday, bettering their opponents in just about every department. The goals, scored by Marco Reus (2), Jadon Sancho (2), and Thorgan Hazard were of the highest quality and displayed the supreme link-up play which BVB can produce in attacking areas when everyone is in the mood. The visitors were battered on the day, having to deal with 23 Dortmund shots in total, as well as 15 crosses into the box. As always Lucien Favre's outfit dominated possession, enjoying a whopping 1116 touches and completing 884/941 attempted passes.
PSV's young guns were excellent this weekend as they blew Sittard away with a 5-0 victory of their own. Five different goalscorers put the ball in the back of the net - Ritsu Doan, Donyell Malen, Steven Bergwijn, Mohamed Ihattaren, and Cody Gakpo. The visitors at the Philips Stadion simply couldn't deal with the pace, power, and pressing of PSV, with 22-year-old Bergwijn leading the charge as the man of the match. The five goals came from a huge 28 shots on target compared to the four of Sittard, who also surrendered 68% possession.
Lionel Messi and Barcelona celebrated the Argentine winning his sixth Ballon d'Or last week by comprehensively beating Mallorca 5-2, with the man himself netting a magnificent hat-trick. Luis Suarez wasn't bad, either, scoring a ridiculous backheeled goal, while Antoine Griezmann scored again. These came from a total of 25 shots on goal, while 651 out of 715 attempted passes were completed. Head coach Ernesto Valverde will still be concerned at the two condeded goals, however.
Tottenham were outstanding against Burnley on Saturday as they put five past the Clarets with no return from the visitors, who were uncharacteristically weak in defence. Harry Kane bagged two superb goals - both smashed into the top left corner - while Son Heung-Min scored after running nearly the length of the pitch. Lucas Moura also got on the scoresheet. Surprisingly, despite being at home, and scoring five, Spurs actually had less possession than Burnley, who simply didn't do enough with the ball when they had it. The home side also won more tackles than Burnley (18 to 15).