Electrifying teenage Borussia Dortmund duo light up Bundesliga best XI

Borussia Dortmund have been the German team to watch since the turn of the year. In January, the Bundesliga powerhouse scored 10 and conceded four as they picked up maximum points in wins over Augsburg and FC Koeln. It was the win over the former that drew the attention of football fans for one simple reason - Erling Haaland. 

The Norwegian hitman has drawn plenty of admirers after really breaking onto the scene over the summer when he netted nine times at the U20 World Cup, while his Salzburg form in both the league and Champions League saw his stock rise considerably. When Borussia Dortmund secured his services last month, they won a hard-fought race with plenty of competitors to land the next big striking talent. 

And while the German side are keen to keep Haaland under wraps as much as possible, that is now nigh-on impossible. Haaland made his Bundesliga debut with 34 minutes of Borussia Dortmund's trip to Augsburg remaining, with Lucien Favre staring a defeat in the race with his side 3-1 down. By full time, Dortmund had earned a 5-3 win and Haaland had bagged himself a 20-minute hat-trick. 

The following week, Haaland started on the bench against FC Koeln and came on with 25 minutes to play. He added two more goal to go with his treble the previous week. Despite registering around an hour of Bundesliga game time in January, Haaland scored more goals (5) than any other player and all but three - including Dortmund - of the Bundesliga's 18 teams last month to help return a WhoScored rating of 8.47, making the team of the month in the process. 

Haaland is one of three Borussia Dortmund representatives in the XI, with fellow teenage superstar Jadon Sancho also making the cut. The winger likes to do things in twos this season having scored one and assisted one in 10 Borussia Dortmund appearances this term as he did so against Augsburg and FC Koeln last month. 

Sancho has been heavily linked with a return to England in recent weeks and if he is able to maintain his flying form then Borussia Dortmund can surely command their price if they elect to sell. 11 key passes and four successful dribbles saw Sancho return a WhoScored rating of 8.95 with Mats Hummels (8.21) completing the Dortmund triumvirate.  

It's fierce rivals Bayern Munich who make up the bulk of the best XI with no fewer than four players for the defending champions featuring. Thiago (9.04) is the Bundesliga player of the month with Robert Lewandowski (8.75), Thomas Muller (8.58) and Alphonso Davies (8.34) joining the Spaniard in the XI. 

Outside of German football's two most recognisable sides, the remainder of the Bundesliga team of the month is made up of Union Berlin goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz (7.65), Hertha Berlin centre-back Jordan Torunarigha (7.55) and Bayer Leverkusen pair Lars Bender (7.93) and Kai Havertz (8.54), but it's the inclusion of Haaland that will attract the most interest.

And it wouldn't be a surprise to see the teenager feature in the February best XI either. As Borussia Dortmund romped to a 5-0 home win over Union Berlin on Saturday, Haaland netted twice to take his total to seven league goals in 2020, more than the 74 of the 98 teams in Europe's top five leagues this year, including Arsenal, Real Madrid (both 6), Barcelona, RB Leipzig (both 5), Tottenham (4) and Atletico Madrid (2) as the January arrival maintains his sprint start to life in Germany.