Dortmund's unbeaten run survives Elversberg but Kovac's midfield questions grow

Borussia Dortmund are level on points with Bayern Munich going into the international break. That is the headline fact, and it is a genuinely impressive one. But the manner of Saturday's 2-1 win over Elversberg at Signal Iduna Park — and the names missing from the teamsheet — raises questions Niko Kovac will have to answer when the Bundesliga resumes.

Dortmund were without Serhou Guirassy, their primary centre-forward, and lost Carney Chukwuemeka to a muscle injury in the 34th minute. Chukwuemeka had started on the wing as part of a 4-3-3, with Fabio Silva leading the line and Joey Veerman, Felix Nmecha and Jobe Bellingham in midfield. When Chukwuemeka went off, Kovac's attacking options narrowed further. The goals, when they came, were individual moments rather than the product of sustained control: Nmecha struck from long range in the 55th and again in the 71st, both efforts from outside the box that owed more to technique than to a defensive collapse.

Possession was almost even — Dortmund 51 per cent, Elversberg 49. The visitors had more shots on target, seven to Dortmund's six, and the expected goals were 1.57 to 1.22. Both sides created two big chances. Elversberg's 16 shots were only three fewer than Dortmund's 19. This was not a case of a dominant side being frustrated by a stubborn opponent; it was a genuinely competitive match in which Dortmund's superior finishing, and Gregor Kobel's six saves, made the difference. Kobel's best stop, a flying save from Lukas Petkov's 34-yard free kick, kept the score at 1-0 before Nmecha's second.

Noel Futkeu's overhead kick in the 81st minute set up a nervous finish, and Elversberg will feel they deserved more. Their 8,000 travelling fans — 61 per cent of the town's inhabitants — made themselves heard throughout.

Dortmund's summer departures included Salih Özcan, Pascal Groß and Julian Brandt, three players who offered different things in the middle of the park. The arrivals — Veerman, Ethan Nwaneri, Giannis Konstantelias, Konstantinos Karetsas, Joane Gadou and Kauã Prates — are younger and more attacking. Against Elversberg, with Chukwuemeka forced off and Guirassy absent, the midfield trio of Veerman, Nmecha and Bellingham had to carry more of the creative burden. Nmecha delivered with his finishing, but the structure around him looked fragile at times.

Whether that is a squad-depth problem or simply matchday variance is not yet clear. But the narrow margin against a newly promoted side, achieved without their first-choice striker and after losing a key attacking midfielder early, is a reminder that the margin between success and dropped points is thin.

Kovac will have the international break to assess Chukwuemeka's injury and Guirassy's availability. Dortmund's next fixture, and the weeks that follow, will show whether the current midfield configuration can sustain a title challenge — or whether the summer's rebuild left the squad one or two injuries away from a problem.