If Dortmund had a rocky start in August, they gradually found their footing in September.
This was especially true on either side of the two-week international break.
A crushing 0-5 ho defeat to Real Madrid, and a thrilling 5-4 victory over Bayern.
From then on, Dortmund’s trajectory was on a steady upward climb.
Their form only started to dip slightly in late October and November.
This was mainly seen in their elimination from the DFB-Pokal and their draws against Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bren, and Hoffenheim.
But once December began, Dortmund hit another brilliant run of form.
After finishing the UEFA Europa League group stage, they faced Nuremberg at ho in the 15th round of the Bundesliga.
Just eight minutes into the match, Sven Bender assisted Grosskreutz, who found the back of Nuremberg’s net.
In the 13th minute, an assist from Owomoyela allowed Wang Shuo to extend their lead.
Then, in the 36th minute, Wang Shuo assisted Götze for another goal.
In the second half, Humls scored from a corner kick, sealing the final score at 4-0!
But the most important thing about this match wasn’t the result, but the performance itself.
It was also about the progress the players had shown!
After Kael’s serious injury, Sven Bender had stepped up to beco the team’s starting midfielder.
And with De De also seriously injured, Schlzer was back in the starting lineup.
In this particular match, Sven Bender’s performance was especially eye-catching.
The double pivot he ford with Shahin helped the team maintain firm control of the midfield.
Götze also displayed outstanding skill in the number 10 role.
Wang Shuo even thought, ’With the skill Götze is showing, he could genuinely replace Foyelner as a starter in the second half of the season.’
For the entire 90 minutes, Dortmund had the ga’s montum and rhythm completely under their control.
It was different from his ti at Mainz.
At Dortmund, Klopp used a 4-2-3-1 formation, which offered stronger midfield control.
Sven Bender was primarily responsible for defense, while Shahin’s control of the midfield was excellent.
And then there was Götze.
These were two players of a caliber that Mainz simply didn’t have.
Add to that the wingers—Reus, Grosskreutz, and Kuba.
This made Dortmund’s overall strength far superior to Mainz’s!
At that mont, Wang Shuo finally felt it: Dortmund had truly co together as a team.
...
If the dominant ho victory over Nuremberg a week ago wasn’t convincing enough, with so arguing Nuremberg was simply too weak,
then a week later, in the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Dortmund’s away match against VfL Wolfsburg provided the answer. The ferocious Bumblebees unleashed Dortmund’s signature wolf pack tactics from the very start.
Just five minutes in, Götze delivered a brilliant pass on a fast break.
After receiving the ball in the box, Wang Shuo shook off a Wolfsburg center-back and blasted a shot into the net, opening the scoring for Dortmund!
1-0!
Just three minutes later, after winning the ball high up the pitch, the players linked up with a series of quick passes.
A pass from Götze and an assist from Wang Shuo set up Kuba, who broke into the box and scored.
2-0!
Then, in the 26th minute, it was an almost identical play. Wang Shuo controlled the ball outside the box, turned, and sent a brilliant pass to Reus, who made a diagonal run behind the defensive line and added another goal for the team.
3-0!
But VfL Wolfsburg were no pushovers.
Head coach Kestner decided to go for broke.
In the 35th minute, he brought on striker Griffith for center-back Siunek.
The substitution had an imdiate effect.
Just one minute after coming on, an assist from Dzeko allowed Griffith to score.
VfL Wolfsburg managed to stem the tide.
But after the break, Dortmund resud their relentless attack.
VfL Wolfsburg, not to be outdone, fought back.
The two sides engaged in a fast-paced, end-to-end battle.
In the 63rd minute, Humls launched a long pass forward. Wang Shuo sprinted to beat the offside trap, collected the ball, broke into the box, and scored on the one-on-one.
4-1!
A brace!
VfL Wolfsburg made another substitution, once again reinforcing their attack.
In the 74th minute, Wang Shuo dropped deep, drawing a center-back out of position. Shahin lofted a long ball over the top, and Reus broke into the left side of the box to score, also completing his brace.
5-1!
That was the final goal of the match.
Dortmund had unleashed an offensive storm in the Bundesliga, demolishing Wolfsburg 5-1 away from ho!
4-0 in the last round, 5-1 in this one.
They had scored nine goals in two matches.
Dortmund were absolutely on fire!
The entire German football scene was stunned.
For the past few years, hadn’t Klopp’s teams always suffered from fitness issues around November and December?
What happened to the so-called "Klopp Syndro"?
But after this match, the dia’s focus was almost entirely on Wang Shuo.
He had now scored 19 goals, matching his goal tally for the entire first half of the previous season.
This utterly debunked all the preseason talk about Wang Shuo hitting a sophomore slump.
Dortmund legend Jan Koller expressed his admiration for Wang Shuo during a dia interview.
"If I could run more than 12 kiloters every match, I’d definitely be able to score more goals. I might even break all the goal-scoring records!"
This was, of course, a joke.
Jan Koller, after all, was a towering center-forward, standing over two ters tall.
But it also reflected Jan Koller’s high praise for Wang Shuo.
His average running distance of over 12 kiloters per match allowed Wang Shuo to beco deeply integrated into Dortmund’s entire system, both on offense and defense.
More importantly, this average of 12 kiloters per match made Wang Shuo’s performance incredibly consistent.
The "Football Emperor," Beckenbauer, even ntioned this during a television appearance.
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