Jamie Gittens has already turned in two match-winning performances for Borussia Dortmund this season. - © NICOLAS TUCAT

bundesliga

Jamie Gittens, Borussia Dortmund's ace up their sleeve?

19.09.2024

English winger Jamie Gittens has made a flying start to the season at Borussia Dortmund, emerging as their trump card thanks to some eye-catching goals.

The latest of which came in a 22-minute, Player of the Match cameo in Dortmund's UEFA Champions League opener, where Gittens climbed from the bench to first break the deadlock and then secure victory.

Both goals in his brace saw the 20-year-old pick up the ball on the left of the Club Brugge box before tormenting his defender with a series of stepovers and letting fly into the far corner.

If it sounds familiar, it should.

Gittens did the exact same thing on Matchday 1 of the new Bundesliga campaign, hitting both goals in almost identical fashion to earn BVB a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt - this time in a 31-minute appearance.

Watch: Gittens' match-winning performance against Frankfurt - highlights

Both his impact off the bench and the manner of his goals are very much by design, too.

"It is the first time that I've received the Man of the Match Award in the Champions League. It's a good feeling," said Gittens following his heroics in Belgium.

"I'm happy about my two goals, but it's even nicer to have won the match. When I came on as substitute, the coach said I should have an influence on the match. I've practised that move many times."

Gittens, who has now scored four goals from just five shots across a combined four appearances - and just 121 minutes of football - in the Bundesliga (three) and Champions League (one).

Those goals have come at a rate of every 30 minutes and the young Londoner's game-changing talent has drawn high praise from grateful teammates.

Julian Brandt told media after the Brugge win that "the substitutes have decided the macth", while Marcel Sabitzer added that Gittens "secured the win for us."

Pascal Groß went further, saying: "Jamie did a superb job, two great pieces of individual play. He is unbelievably strong in one on ones. He already won the game against Frankfurt for us with similar moves."

Former Dortmund captain and now sporting director, Sebastian Kehl added: "The reaction from Jamie is that of a champion: We expect that the lads that come on change the game. When he is in the penalty area, he's almost impossible to defend against."

It's certainly proven the case in Gittens' fleeting appearances so far this season and it will now be up to the England U21 international to show that he can consistently step up to the plate when called upon, especially once head coach Nuri Şahin hands him more minutes.