First of all, when BVB appear in Freiburg, all eyes are on the new striker Anthony Modeste. But then the jokers roll around Youssoufa Moukoko. Modeste calls him a “huge talent”.
In the end, Youssoufa Moukoko was back in the thick of things. Displaced from the starting XI by new signing Anthony Modeste, the youngster really turned things up as a joker – and Borussia Dortmund made the 0-1 deficit at SC Freiburg into a 3-1 (0-1) win.
Moukoko was on the pitch for just 20 minutes in BVB’s second success of the season in the Bundesliga on Friday evening. But they were enough for him to steal the show from Modeste, who was signed by 1. FC Köln as the new Dortmund striker at the beginning of the week. After the final whistle, 34-year-old Modeste and half their age Moukoko cheered up and down in front of the guest block with their colleagues.
“He’s a huge talent”
“He’s a huge talent,” said Modeste about Moukoko, who, after being substituted on, only prepared the 1-1 lead by Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (77th minute) and seven minutes later that – favored by a serious mistake by SC keeper Mark Flekken Dortmund then scored 2-1 himself. The German U21 national player was also involved in the final score by Marius Wolf (88th). “I think I can help him,” said Modeste. “I like to give him tips.”
It was not an easy lightning debut for the Frenchman just a few days after his move to BVB. You would have noticed that he hadn’t trained too often with the new teammates, Modeste said. He still needs some time. He was happy anyway. “When you win, it’s always good,” emphasized the attacker.
His coach Edin Terzic, who was the first BVB coach to win nine Bundesliga games in a row, was also happy with Modeste. “Tony was needed,” said Terzic. “Not only on offense, but also on defense.” Among other things, to help defend the dangerous standard situations of Freiburg. “That was a good first step,” the 39-year-old praised the striker, who is to replace Sébastien Haller, who has been missing for months due to a testicular tumor, and played the full 90 minutes in his debut.
Terzic was also “very” happy for Moukoko, who in his opinion had “worked a lot” in the 1-0 opening win against Bayer Leverkusen. “The strength of a team is not shown by the eleven players who start, but by the whole team,” emphasized the BVB coach. The victory in Freiburg, in which all Dortmund goals came from jokers and which temporarily took Borussia to the top of the table, showed it. (dpa)