Borussia Dortmund will soon face off against Bundesliga rival Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final, and in doing so will attempt to knock off one of the most dominant Bundesliga teams in league history.
Bayern's efforts to beef up their roster were triggered by back-to-back Dortmund Bundesliga titles, however, so it would be unwise to count out Bundesliga's No. 2 team in the title game.
The last time the two teams met, on May 4th, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. That pairing proved to Dortmund that they could stand up to the German bullies; their coach, Jurgen Klopp, even engaged Bayern's general manager in a verbal spat that nearly turned physical. All this goes to show that Dortmund is entering this championship game with designs upon winning the title.
While Bayern led the Champions League in goals, Borussia Dortmund was no slouch of a club offensively. They netted 23 goals themselves, good for third in the Champions League, and had the second-most attempts on target (107) in the league, three more than Bayern.
While they do not possess Bayern's ruthless execution, they make up for that with aggression. They also fire off shots from all over the pitch; of their 107 attempts on target 68 came on the inside while 67 came from a distance.
They will also need forward Robert Lewandowski to perform at the top of his game; Lewandowski was by far Dortmund's top offensive weapon with 10 goals in 12 matches. He was the most devastating goal scorer this season for either side.
On top of that, Dortmund will need to convert on some of their outside opportunities, because Bayern will likely limit the amount of chances they get. The stat about their willingness to fire from all spots on the pitch is interesting, but the facts bear out that Dortmund is far more effective on the inside.
To top Bayern, they will need to play above their heads a bit.
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