The Victors

it was a Pokal Cup game against a 5th division type team, but still Kovac started him and let him play the entire 90 minutes. He had 6 shots on goal, including 3 that were on target, and completed 36 passes, which was 4th highest on the team. Kovac rotated the squad, but with Konstanteidas out for most of the first half of the year with an ACL injury, Albert is in a great position to get a lot of playing time. They added Ethan Nwaneri on loan from Arsenal today, so there will be some competition for midfield spots, but he definitely has gotten Dortmund's attention and the playing time is going to be there with the league, cup and Champion's League schedules to compete in. Interestingly, they play Arsenal early in Champion's League so Nwaneri will likely start against Arsenal, as UEFA rules don't allow teams to prohibit a loaned player from competing against the team that owns his rights.