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Dortmund obliterate Gladbach, Pulisic makes men look like boys

Yesterday Borussia Dortmund hosted Borussia Mönchengladbach in Signal Iduna Park. Almost from the beginning die Schwarzgelben were obviously the stronger side, controlling possession but not making any real threats to score until 28' when Aubameyang made a perfect sliding cross to Philipp who made an even more perfect waist-high valley to take the ball across his body, past the keeper, and into the net.

The thing that struck me about Philipp's volley was how casual it looked. That was not an easy shot, but when you're young and play for one of the best teams in Europe you make those shots look easy. Philipp is dangerous. It will be interesting to see how much time he gets against Real Madrid on Tuesday, and how confident he looks against a powerhouse.

Some other things from the match: Aubameyang looked incredible. I hope he plays that well against Real Madrid, though I suspect he will; Aubameyang does not strike me as a streaky player; just all dangerous all the time.

Much ado has been made about Dortmund's injury problems, but yesterday saw Götze in fine form (he could be key against Real Madrid since he's used to playing against the best in the world) and also JULIAN WEIGLE (caps mine)! The announcer called him "sleek" or "sophisticated" at some point in the game, which was right on, his turns and mechanics looked incredible, and of course he had his first Bundesliga goal, a beautiful laces strike from just outside the box at 79'. Der BVB is look deeper every minute. One Twitter commenter after the game said (in complimentary fashion), watching Weigl is "Like watching a polar bear on a floating slab of ice."
And now to our boy Pulisic. He didn't score. He didn't have an assist. But Jesus Christ in Heaven Mohammed on his horse Yaweh Siddartha Buddha the gospel of Mark the gospel of John the gospel of Croatia did he have some dribbling runs that were downright dastardly. In one dribbling run he beat five Gladbach defenders before dishing it off to Aubameyang. In other run the announcer called his skills "outrageous."
ESPN, speaking of his skills, said some in the second half were "worth the entrance fee alone." So yeah, if you're a diehard Pulisic fan (i.e. you have a brain) you're a tiny bit disappointed he didn't get on the board or that none of the runs resulted in goals, you're also blown away to see someone dribble by grown-ass man as if they were toddlers sucking on pacifiers.

And now we prepare for Real Madrid. Real Madrid has my least favorite player in the world in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo, and let's hope the biggest whiner in the game has plenty to whine about on Tuesday. I've canceled all work engagements for this game. I'll probably have to remember to breathe. And the first thing I'm going to do when I get up on Tuesday is put on my Echte Liebe shirt, listen to the Champions League theme song, scream at no one in particular, and get ready for a battle. 
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