There are so many stories to tell about this magnificent 5–1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, the fourth consecutive win against the Black and Yellows. For example, the story of Enzo Camille Alain Millot.
That felt good. The reassurance that the team can once again reach similar levels of play as they did last season. The fact that all the money Dortmund spent on our captain and our top scorer made no difference at all on this Sunday evening. Even more so: it brought them absolutely nothing, as one had to concede five goals, and the other barely posed any threat to our goal. This show of power demonstrates that, after the fourth consecutive victory against BVB, we not only hold the bragging rights for another six months but also have the upper hand in sporting terms. The 5–1 was Borussia’s biggest defeat since the 5–1 four years ago in the Westfalenstadion. Who would have thought that Dortmund would become our favorite opponent?
This victory came from a team that, like against Real Madrid earlier in the week (!) and despite that emotionally and physically exhausting match, played to its limit and delivered a highly focused performance on the pitch. Dortmund hardly knew what was happening to them when it was already 2–0, thanks to goals from Stuttgart’s new strike duo, Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav. This season is only four matchdays old, and with seven competitive games in total, the supposed 50-million-euro strike force has already scored ten goals together, five each. That also feels good. The halftime lead was set up by Maxi Mittelstädt, who was recently predicted by a Spox editor to have a very tough season, but showed significant improvement after a difficult match in Madrid.
Inimitable, powerful, magnificent
That a 2–0 lead is no guarantee for three points was shown in the last home game. However, one player brushed aside all those typical VfB fears in the second half: Enzo Millot. In recent games, he had already shown in his substitute appearances that he could take the team’s offensive play to a new level. On this day, he practically decided the game single-handedly. Inimitably, he snuck into the penalty area beyond the offside line after taking a corner himself and, completely unmarked, slotted home the crucial 3–0 past Dortmund’s bewildered defense, including Waldemar Anton. Powerful, how he punished Dortmund for substituting on Emre Can, intercepting his bad pass at the center circle and sending Deniz Undav on his way to a brace and the 5–1 final score.
The setup for the 4–1, the first goal of the season for new signing El Bilal Touré, can only be described as magnifique, meaning magnificent. There wasn’t really much space on the right side after the throw-in to advance toward the goal. Unless, of course, your name is Enzo Millot and you can do whatever you want with the ball. Millot and the ball danced along and on the goal line, leaving two Dortmund defenders in the dust before the VfB midfielder made the unfortunate Gregor Kobel look bad and turned his solo run into an assist. He already had the chance to turn the match in our favor early against the slightly tougher-to-beat Champions League finalist – against Dortmund, he made up for that.
On Fire
Now, of course, I don’t want to place Millot above the rest of the team, but this game was undoubtedly his masterpiece. At the same time, he represents many other players who have been on fire in a VfB jersey, especially under Sebastian Hoeneß. We were used to new signings seeing their careers falter with us or being trapped in mediocrity – with a few exceptions. But recently, we’ve been blessed with players who not only function excellently as a team but are also capable of delivering incredible individual performances. Like the total 46 league goals from Guirassy and Undav last season, for example. Or the goalkeeping from Alexander Nübel. Or, most recently, the sprint from new signing Fabian Rieder down the sideline.
And the team didn’t just shine in terms of play. After the unfortunate performances against Freiburg and Mainz and the weak first half in Mönchengladbach, the players with the chest ring not only fought their way through this “English week” but turned it into a celebration week – despite the defeat in Madrid. Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ll roll over Wolfsburg, Prague, and Hoffenheim as dominantly as we did against Dortmund. But this performance should give the team even more confidence, especially for the tougher matches where the opponent fights back. And we still have Millot. Millot magnifique!
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