PROFILE

Borussia Dortmund are the surprise early pacesetters in the German Bundesliga as Bayern Munich continue to flounder and on-loan goalscorer Francisco Alcacer is playing a key role in their success.

The 25-year-old is in the form of his life for Dortmund after two unsuccessful seasons at Barcelona that yielded only 10 La Liga goals despite plenty of game-time - and he has also been banging in the goals for the Spanish national team this campaign.

Dortmund are unbeaten in their opening 12 games of the Bundesliga season, winning nine, including a 3-2 success against Bayern Munich in which Alcacer was on target.

He has nine league goals plus a UEFA Champions League strike against Monaco and three goals in his last two games for Spain after a recall following two years in the international wilderness.

It has been a magnificent few months for the