“Erling Haaland brings so much to Borussia Dortmund,” says USMNT star Gio Reyna
Erling Haaland will give Borussia Dortmund "a new dynamic" following his return from injury, teammate and USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna has told bundesliga.com.
Haaland and Reyna came off the bench after 63 minutes of Dortmund's Matchday 26 encounter with Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday as both made a comeback from injury.
While Reyna was making only his sixth Bundesliga appearance of a campaign that has been peppered with spells in the treatment room, Haaland had missed his team's last four league matches with an adductor problem.
Watch: Gio Reyna praise for Erling Haaland
The pair emerged onto the pitch with Dortmund already ahead thanks to Marius Wolf's first-half goal, and combined late on to go close to adding a second before Marco Rose's team closed out a 1-0 win.
The victory moves Dortmund to within seven points of leaders Bayern Munich with a game in hand, and Reyna is convinced Haaland, who has a sensational 16 league goals in 15 appearances this term, will give the side even more momentum.
"Everyone knows what he brings to the table. He offers so much. He keeps defences on their toes the whole game. It's just a new dynamic, he can do so much for us," said the 19-year-old. "First and foremost, his goalscoring ability is something we don't take for granted. We'll see that soon and we're all really happy to have him back."
Watch: Dortmund's Wolf huffs, puffs and blows Bielefeld's door down
Want more Bundesliga Action?
Reyna was also part of a piece of Dortmund history when he was joined by compatriot Lennard Maloney on the Signal Iduna Park pitch five minutes from time as two Americans played in the same game for the club for the first time.
Berlin-born Maloney had made his Bundesliga debut and only previous top-flight appearance in the reverse fixture against Bielefeld on Matchday 9, coming off the bench for the final two minutes of a game that Reyna missed through injury.
The match actually featured three Americans on the pitch at the same time as USMNT left-back George Bello was making his first Bundesliga start for Bielefeld following his January arrival from Atlanta United.
Related news
US Soccer Players in Germany: 2024/25 update
How did the likes of Joe Scally, Gio Reyna and Jordan fare on Matchday 9?
Remembering Haaland's dream Dortmund debut
Already one of the most feared strikers football has ever seen, Augsburg's WWK Arena got a taste of what was to come back in 2020.
Sebastian Kehl on Gio Reyna: "He can be very important"
The American still has a big role to play at Signal Iduna Park, according to Dortmund's sporting director.