Gio Reyna earned his first Bundesliga start of the 2022-23 season for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and rewarded manager Edin Terzic by scoring his first goal in 14 months.
Reyna capped off a dominant first-half for Borussia Dortmund, contributing his first goal since August 2021 in a 5-0 victory over Stuttgart. It was Reyna’s 11th goal for the club in all competitions, and a confident finish from his left wing position at Signal Iduna Park.
“It felt so good; it’s been a long time coming,” Reyna said postmatch. “So much hard work took place behind the scenes which a lot of people don’t see. No summer break, 5-6 hours of rehab a day, I don’t know how many people could stick through that. You have to be really hungry and believe in yourself to get back as soon as possible. It was tough, but I’m happy to be back.”
Jude Bellingham and Niklas Sule gave Borussia Dortmund a 2-0 advantage through the opening 13 minutes before Reyna called his own number ahead of the halftime break. Reyna picked up possession from Youssoufa Moukoko on the left wing before cutting onto his right foot and drilling a low shot into the bottom-right corner.
It was his first league goal since scoring against Hoffenheim on Aug. 27, 2021.
Bellingham added his second goal of the match in the second half while Moukoko also found the back of the net for the hosts. Reyna was substituted off in the 67th minute, finishing with the most chances created (3), three duels won, and one foul drawn.
The 19-year-old will hope Saturday’s goalscoring performance will spark him to a strong run of form ahead of the FIFA World Cup with the U.S. men’s national team.
Borussia Dortmund next hosts Manchester City in UEFA Champions League play on Tuesday before visiting Eintracht Frankfurt on Oct. 29 in league action.
Johnny, dear heart … always a refreshing breath of cold water. But thanks for the realism. /-:
At least surely it’s better for McKennie & Reyna to score (finally) than not to score? At least surely it’s better for Pulisic, Adams, Aaronson, A. Robinson, Dest, Musah, Sargent, Weah to be all healthy (knock wood) than injured? For Johnson and Steffen to be playing, and for Turner to be training against some of the best?
Don’t ask me about the back line. I don’t know at all that Long (ulp) – Zimmermann is necessarily much better than, say, Carter-Vickers, Ream, even Brooks, Miazga.
And let’s not think too much either about the front line, where really, Arriola or Zardes, or Pefok or Wright, might not be much worse than Ferreira or (ulp) Pepi. (Not that I wish to dismiss any brave young Texans, but maybe their best is yet to come.)
A sobering ESPN article entitled “Four Big Questions” recently laid out a couple of decades of USMNT history, with graphs that rose briefly but then always fell again. Maybe SBI would like to respond with a rosier projection for this cycle, with arguably more raw talent. Or … not, with arguably less pragmatic tactics.
On the cynical side, I’ve wondered if it has suited Cherundolo to let Bale languish on the bench (or the golf course), not unlike how it evidently suited Lampard and Tuchel and now suits Potter to look past Pulisic to other players, whether English or German. England, USA, and Wales all in one group, and Germany in the larger mix; why should any European coaches do Pulisic any favors?
But if keeping him out just keeps him healthy, maybe he can still muster his strength to fight the uphill battles to come.
Tejana,
“On the cynical side, I’ve wondered if it has suited Cherundolo to let Bale languish on the bench (or the golf course), not unlike how it evidently suited Lampard and Tuchel and now suits Potter to look past Pulisic to other players, whether English or German. England, USA, and Wales all in one group, and Germany in the larger mix; why should any European coaches do Pulisic any favors?”
Why?
How about selfishness as in keeping your job?
If you are the manager, if you think Bale or Pulisic gives you a better chance to win, then you use them.
If you don’t do that then how long do you think you’re going to last? The stakes are too high to engage in this kind of petty BS.
Pro players are like any other worker. You have to prove your worth to your boss. Pulisic has done a bad job of that and that’s on him.
These guys work for Chelsea or LAFC not England or the USMNT. They get no money for doing England or the USMNT any favors. Arsene Wenger was once asked about his lack of English players. His answer was that he worked for Arsenal not England.
Chelsea managers also manage other players who play for countries that may one day face England in the Euros or the World Cup. What kind of lineup do you think a Chelsea manager could field if all he thought about was helping out England?
If Chelsea supports this kind of bullshit, then they should just recruit English players.
And in fact it was Lampard who helped make Pulisic an early success at Chelsea. He’s the guy who asked him to score more and gave him the #10 and said he deserved it. Will Frank be a traitor if Pulisic scores the winning goal vs England in Qatar?
I do wonder though if he’s out the door in January so Potter’s not going to start the guy who doesn’t help them going forward. Not unlike Hyndman at Fulham. Like Chelsea told him the market wasn’t right in August but we’ll sell in January just keep being a good boy and we’ll give you enough time to stay fit and attract suitors but “our guys” start to get some chemistry. Most matches Chelsea will have plenty of talent to stay in CL position even if Pulisic is marginally better than guys getting more minutes.
JR,
“I do wonder though if he’s out the door in January so Potter’s not going to start the guy who doesn’t help them going forward.”
That does not make sense.
January is a long ways away. Why don’t you ask Jesse how important a point or two is? If Pulisic was the difference in getting a couple of points that might later get me into the top four, I sure as hell would play him.
Having watched Chelsea’s last few Potter games, I’d be thinking about giving him a longer look before shipping him out.
Their forwards look like crap.
Of course, I would say that right now many of the players in the EPL are probably already burnt from the aggressive Pre-Qatar scheduling. This many games a week is pretty ridiculous.
Since Pulisic got there a whole bunch of attacking players have come in and disappointed. Many of them were pricier than Christian so if you want to be cynical about it you could say they were trying to get their money’s worth out of those guys and maybe Christian fell down the pecking order. And he made it easier for them to leave him out since he was hurt so much.
What that says about Chelsea I’m not sure. Maybe that you can have too many good players especially if you don’t settle quickly into an effective, defined style of play.
Emo got into it bad with the management at Fulham. I don’t know of any contract dispute like that between Chelsea and Pulisic. Todd Boehly is allegedly an American so in theory the good old anti American card does not apply here much as many would like it to seeing as how it is often the go to excuse.
If I had to guess, and it’s only a guess, I would say his injury prone reputation persists internally more than we know, Managers hate players that they perceive to be brittle.
JR, Vacqui…
I’ve actually had both thoughts myself. Pulisic wasn’t happy there and obviously wanted to move on, and he does indeed have a reputation for being brittle. If I think he’s a guy who will break if I use him, I’m definitely thinking about doing just enough to keep him fit and healthy…and then moving him on in January to recoup my investment. If you’re Graham Potter and you are planning to move him in January and as such probably isn’t going to be in your long-term plans, how Potter is dealing with him now is exactly how you’d deal with him.
I actually wonder if what Pulisic really needs isn’t the EPL but a slightly-lower, slightly-less physically intense level week-to-week. If I’m Pulisic I’m eyeballing Juve or Milan or some such as a potential fit…it’s still a really good level and a really good paycheck, but it’s not quite as physically unforgiving week-to-week as the Prem is either.
I know we’d all scream and yell, but I could ALSO see Pulisic taking the money and signing mega for MLS, be the league’s new Landon Donovan just in time for its AppleTV rebrand. The winner-take-all nature of our playoffs mean you could baby him through the season and as long as he’s good to go for you come playoff time….
Vacqui, it make sense if he doesn’t view Pulisic as significantly better. Yes, Havertz and Mount have struggled some but the team is still generally being successful. Potter is 5-3-0 18 pts, they’re on top of CL group. It’s working even if it’s not perfect.
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I asked some Fulham fans if Emerson had been put in the doghouse because he refused to resign and the answer not really. I forget the guy but the feeling was if he wasn’t coming back why develop him if he wasn’t above his replacement. If Porter doesn’t view CP as significantly better than Mount (and I don’t know very many who do) then why play him if he’s leaving in 8-10 games.
JR,
“ it make sense if he doesn’t view Pulisic as significantly better.”
If you read my post, you’ll note that my reasoning is all based on the idea that the manager thinks Pulisic is the guy who gives him the best chance to win.
If he does, then he’ll play him regardless of whether he’s leaving in January or not.
It’s obvious that Tuchel and Potter after him did not/do not think Pulisic is THE guy who gave/gives Chelsea the best chance to win.
He’s still there because he still has that ability to unsettle a defense in a way that no other Chelsea forward can.
But I think they don’t trust him to not break down. And as someone else pointed out, keeping his minutes down reduces his injury risk, which preserves his value to Chelsea as a super sub and also keeps his asset value at a reasonable level for when they deal him elsewhere.
“Yes, Havertz and Mount have struggled some but the team is still generally being successful. Potter is 5-3-0 18 pts, they’re on top of CL group. It’s working even if it’s not perfect.”
Havertz and Mount don’t do the same things Pulisic does and are not really competition, per se, for him.
It’s way early to say Potter is going to do even as well as Tuchel did. Man City seem like themselves but with Liverpool vulnerable, Man United, Arsenal and Spurs seem revived so Chelsea should have it harder this season.
I’m not convinced that Chelsea will be willing to let Pulisic go in the January window. The forwards have not really been impressive lately and Pulisic is slowly getting better. I think they might really like him as a super sub if he and US fans don’t.
I’m sure Pulisic wants out. I’m guessing his way of doing that is to play as well as possible leading up to the World Cup. Then I expect he’s going to try to have the best possible World Cup he can manage. But if he does all that well, it may make Chelsea rethink letting him go in the January window. I don’t know that Chelsea has anyone else who can be as effective a super sub as Christian can.
—————————
“I asked some Fulham fans if Emerson had been put in the doghouse because he refused to resign and the answer not really. I forget the guy but the feeling was if he wasn’t coming back why develop him if he wasn’t above his replacement. If Porter doesn’t view CP as significantly better than Mount (and I don’t know very many who do) then why play him if he’s leaving in 8-10 games.”
There’s no comparison between the Emo and Pulisic situation.
Chelsea didn’t see Pulisic the same way Fulham saw Emo. I love Emo but he is not and never has been at the same level as Christian.
Chelsea did not buy Christian to develop him. They bought him if anything, to immediately try and fill the void left by Hazard. Obviously, he failed.
Pulisic is still at Chelsea because of an unlikely combination of stop and start. In other words he’s done well and then gets hurt. He’s injured or coming back from injury a lot. It’s better now but I’d say his reputation at Chelsea is already imbedded. Great talent but just when you think he’s going to come good, he breaks down.
Granted you and I would say what he needs to is a long run to prove himself one way or another.
He gets that with the USMNT because there’s no one to replace him. But he’s not going to get that in London because at Chelsea if Pulisic falters, there is a long line of guys just waiting to take his place, many of whom may be just as good.
Mount has had shitty games? Yes but :
1. No one can really replace what Mount does best for Chelsea
2. He’s an academy product, English and a fan favorite and gets a much longer leash than anyone without those privileges.
If you think that’s unfair favoritism then you obviously haven’t been following the US National Men’s soccer team lately. It turns out life is not fair, even in soccer.
Christian is paid a lot to play a game many of us would play for peanuts. He has already made a ton more money than most of us will and he’s achieved many of his career dreams. He’s doing okay; rich, single and living in a city like London. And if he leaves Chelsea he will be able to afford his own SHEETZ franchise somewhere in Dauphin county PA.
I’m not crying for him.
Besides, being a regular super sub for Chelsea keeps him comparatively fresh and somewhat protected from injury for the USMNT. USMNT fans should be happy about that. Landon had MLS to keep him just sharp enough to stay fit for his real team, the USMNT. That may be one reason he played so long and so well for the USMNT.
JR,
If Sancho and Rashford keep playing well there’s enough time left.
And the final injury lists, which I suspect will grow longer, aren’t in yet for all the countries.
And if Bellingham makes it and Sancho doesn’t, Bellingham will still have a lot of “real deal” help.
However overrated Bellingham really is, if he plays against the USMNT in the World Cup, he’ll be surrounded by a team that will have a very serious talent advantage over the USMNT.
Bellingham might choke in the EPL but that won’t mean shit to the USMNT, which would also choke in the EPL.
Transfermkt values
Bellingham 99 million
Kane 99 million
Foden 99 million
Alx. Arnold 88 million
Rice 88 million
Mount 82 million
Saka 77 million
Sterling 77 million
Overall squad from Sept 1.5 billion
USA
Pulisic 46 million
Gio 38 million
Aaronson 33 million
Wes 27 million
Dest 20 million
Tyler 18 million
Team 270 million
———————————
Wales 144 million
Iran 78 million
———————————-
Hungary who beat England 5-0 on aggregate this year 109 million.
Those stats are probably as realistic a talent eval as anything, but the last line shows that it is still 11v11, and anything can happen particularly on a neutral field. I’m getting cautiously optimistic as our best players are getting healthy and seeming to find form. The top players are now used to playing at the highest level and against the best players in the world. It’s really the centerback position that is the real weak spot. We just don’t have the players there to play how Berhalter wants. Is he able/willing to adjust tactics/formation to shore up the defense and give us a chance to get some results? The high defensive line with Zimmerman/Long trying to be playmakers is a recipe for disaster.
To be fair the market value of an EPL player is inflated because those teams have more money than anyone so they pay more. If Mason Mount is an American who started in Bundesliga he’s probably only valued at 50-60 million.
Great goal, and it’s nice to see the team celebrating with him like that.
Great to see Gio getting a goal. Terrifying to see the form Bellingham is bringing the WC. He is going to be a handful.
Bellingham and Elliot are extremely overrated. Bellingham also has not scored against anyone good. He didnt score on the same Sevilla that won the Europa League final. Sancho is the real deal, Bellingham would choke in EPL.
I can’t figure out Sancho but you are dead wrong on Bellingham. I hope your right for one day in November but I don’t think so. He scored on full strength Man City in 0-0 game at the time so your evaluation seems a little off.
I dunno, man. Bellingham looks really, really good to me. Usually one of the top 2-3 guys for Dortmund, jumps off the field at you with his intensity and pace and just how much ground he covers. Dude seems like he’s everywhere some games.
“Bellingham also has not scored against anyone good”
I don’t know if that’s true.
But even if it is that does not help the USMNT because they aren’t “anyone good”. So yeah, we really need to be worried about him. And he will have “real deal” Sancho to help him.
Vacqui, not sure, Sancho hasn’t been on their roster in awhile.
He scored against Man City and they still lost the game and its a Uefa Championship Group stage game those games are like scrimmages lol. When they do the away and home aggregate legs thats when the real matches start. How is my evaluation wrong, look at his stats? He barely did anything in the Championship at Birmingham City. 60 + app and like 4 goals, It took him forever to start scoring in the Bundesliga which is way easier to score in than EPL and La liga.
JR,
If Sancho and Rashford keep playing well there’s enough time left.
And the final injury lists, which I suspect will grow longer, aren’t in yet for all the countries.
And if Bellingham makes it and Sancho doesn’t, Bellingham will still have a lot of “real deal” help.
However overrated Bellingham really is, if he plays against the USMNT in the World Cup, he’ll be surrounded by a team that will have a very serious talent advantage over the USMNT.
Bellingham might choke in the EPL but that won’t mean shit to the USMNT, which would also choke in the EPL.
Did you really just go “well when he was in the Championship” he was 16 starting in the Championship and still scored 4 g as a #6 (he played about half as wide player then). Tyler Adams our #6 has 8 g (3 of those in USL) in his career, Jude has 8 since August. Also quit spouting that IV bs, Man City had all of their regular starters in that game it was not a “scrimmage”. Last time I checked 41 matches was nowhere near 60 either. He isn’t paid to score he’s paid break up the attack and connect offense to defense. When he scores it’s for fun.
Bellingham 151 matches 22g 22a
McKennie 140 matches 13g 7a
Adams 187 matches 5g 14a
Musah 68 matches 2g 2a
————————-
Put it this way in matches for Dortmund.
Bellingham 107 matches 18g 20a
Pulisic 127 matches 19g 26a
If Jude is overrated putting up the same numbers as a 6/8 as Pulisic in roughly the same playing period for the same team???????
JR,
Bellingham needn’t worry. He has many things to learn but Gio has already agreed to take him under his wing and show him the way.
What I’m looking forward to is seeing him and Gio vs. Erling on Tuesday.
r
Hah, boy Gio does love a good “Buddy” laugh filled interview session. Haaland, then Christian, and now Bellingham. Really hoping for a Gio and anyone “know your teammate” video during the WC. Check out the old ones on YouTube especially Dike/Cannon and Turner/Acosta.
Not sure any of those 3 will play much this time, both locked to advance and BvB would have to win by 3 to finish ahead of MC.