Brian Laudrup has told Giovanni van Bronckhorst how Rangers can hurt Borussia Dortmund through Mats Hummels in their Europa League play-off, via his column for the Daily Mail.
UEFA drew the Gers to face BVB for a last 16 spot after finishing the group stage in second-place. Dortmund, meanwhile, drop down from the Champions League after finishing third in Group C after losing both meetings with Ajax and suffering a defeat to Sporting Lisbon.
Laudrup feels the Westfalenstadion natives’ 4-0 and 3-1 defeats to group winners Ajax set an example for Rangers to follow. As while Marco Rose is blessed with attacking talents, his Bundesliga outfit are also susceptible to defensive lapses, as well.
Laudrup pinpoints Dortmund weakness Rangers can exploit
Chief among the Borussia Dortmund defenders Laudrup feels Rangers should target is star centre-back Hummels. The 2014 World Cup winner returned to the Westfalenstadion for £34m in 2019 after three-years away with rivals Bayern Munich.
The 32-year-old is a mainstay of Rose’s plans after his compatriot took charge of BVB in the summer. Hummels has started 11 of their 15 Bundesliga fixtures, plus five of six Champions League ties and one of two DFB Pokal encounters, as well as two substitute outings so far.
But Laudrup would pinpoint the 76-cap enforcer with six Bundesliga winners’ medals as the player for Van Bronckhorst to target.
“You can lose to a high-quality team like Ajax, of course you can. But by an aggregate of 7-1 when you have all the resources of Dortmund? That speaks of some flaws,” Laudrup wrote.
“Defensively, there are opportunities to get at them, if you can get enough of the ball. Mats Hummels is a player of fantastic experience and very important in the build-up [of attacks]. But his lack of pace can make him a weak-link when opposition teams are able to counter.”
Can Van Bronckhorst’s Rangers exploit Hummels?
Borussia Dortmund ace Hummels is by no means the defender he once was and his lack of pace could offer Rangers avenues to explore when they meet in the Europa League.
Bayern Munich enjoyed a lot of success targeting their former enforcer in Der Klassiker this month, too. Hummels was at fault, or at least partly, for all three of Der FCB’s goals.
His mistake which led to Robert Lewandowski’s first of the day will offer Van Bronckhorst reason for optimism, as well. Hummels badly misread the situation and let Thomas Muller break after failing to successfully clear a high ball.
He also inadvertently blocked Raphael Guerreiro’s clearance, with the ball falling kindly for Kingsley Coman. And Hummels was also embroiled in late controversary when he gave referee Felix Zwayer a decision to make.
The defender tried to force his way between two players and clear Serge Gnabry’s corner. But the ball instead struck an unaware Hummel’s elbow as he stumbled, and Lewandowski made no mistake from the spot to seal the win at the Westfalenstadion over their rivals.
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