Karim Bellarabi's Bundesliga record nine-second strike against Dortmund was truly remarkable. This wasn't just because of how quick the goal was, but how surprisingly slow and sluggish Dortmund looked; this was throughout the whole match. Credit of course has to be given to Roger Schmidt's side's impressive, intense pressure for the majority of the 90 minutes, forcing Dortmund into errors and mistakes, whilst also slowing their tempo, which is vital to their game. The central-midfield partnership of Sebastian Kehl and Milos Jojic couldn't get things going for Jurgen Klopp's men. With a week to go in the transfer window, do Dortmund need to get another central midfielder to add something different, something which Dortmund's opponents wouldn't expect?
On paper, Dortmund have plenty of options and competition in that central midfield area. However, Oliver Kirch, who Klopp described as having "the greatest development of a 31-year old (Kirch is now 32) I have ever seen," is out for two months with a thigh injury. Ilkay Gundogan, who is expected to return in September, has been out for a year with a back problem, and it will take time to regain fitness and form. Nuri Sahin missed the Leverkusen match, whilst Sven Bender was an unused substitute. Die Schwarzgelben have six useful options in that area, and you could add Kevin Großkreutz in there as well, considering he can play in almost any position on the pitch.
But with the fear of the injury Gods again striking against Dortmund, another option in that central midfield could be the missing and final piece in the Dortmund jigsaw puzzle. Time though is against BVB, with less than seven days to go in this summer trasnfer window, as they look to keep up and compete with Bayern for the next years and decades to come. It doesn't help that they are already with a three point disadvantage to Bayern after Matchday One. A box-to-box midfielder may be the solution to Dortmund's problem, someone of tireless energy and stamina, although there isn't many top quality players with those characteristics around and up for sale, especially in this final week of the window. This could be a priority for Klopp, if an injury crisis occurs again, during the January window.
There's also the possibilty of Klopp looking within his youth set-up for a midfield option. 18-year old Mitsuru Maruoka, who is reportedly called 'Shinji' by Klopp, was on the bench - Leverkusen, and although he wasn't involved, the Japanese youngster was given opportunities during pre-season, with injuries and World Cup stars returning and regaining their fitness. He is on an 18-month loan from Cerezo Osaka, and a solid season with the Dortmund II side, and who knows. If he is good enough, not only will Dortmund look to make that loan move into a permanent one, Marouka may be given his chance in the first team. After all, Klopp is known for making unknowns into stars.