There were times when Dortmund’s spectators were thought to be able to press the ball into the opposing goal with the sheer force of their sound waves. But after a Corona break of more than two years, BVB did not help the stadium, which was sold out again for the first time, against RB Leipzig. The plumes of smoke from the Bengalo fire, which rose up from the famous South Stand for kick-off, wanted to provoke a particularly heated fight. But already at half-time the 81,365 spectators knew that no noise in the world would turn the game around today.
0:2 at break, 1:4 after the final whistle. A swatter that you obviously have to accept in the current BVB season with a full house as before with empty seats and mini backdrops. After the depressing result against Leipzig, Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel even wanted to see that his own fans had made the team even more insecure: “We get hectic after the first goal conceded, then the crowd gets restless and then we get into something like that downward spiral.” For Kobel it was the first time that he experienced a full Dortmund stadium.
In fact, the game could probably be more easily reduced to a different denominator: one team played with clear tactics, the other – at least apparently – without. The team of Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco, known in the Ruhr area from his time at Schalke 04, allowed BVB to play largely unhindered and undisturbed up to the center line, and only then attacked deep in midfield all the more massively. Leipzig regularly converted the almost inevitable ball conquests into rapid high-speed counterattacks. Dortmund, on the other hand, seemed almost awkward for most of the game, sedated, without moments of surprise and esprit.
But as it is in football: Leipzig’s first goals came about in a completely different way. And the goalscorer both times was Konrad Laimer, of all people, who hadn’t really stood out as a goalscorer until then. Especially the Leipzig goal to make it 0-1, when Laimer first snatched the ball from Emre Can and then ran away from him to spoon the ball thirty meters further into the goal himself. At the second goal, Can Laimer’s shot deflected unhappily to make it 0:2.
Yes, Dortmund had two chances in the early stages when the fans were still loud and you could still think the game was going on as equals. Once, however, Marco Reus botched the opportunity to lead alone in front of Peter Gulacsi, then Erling Haaland shot a curiously slipped ball next to the Leipzig goal on his only opportunity. Mats Hummels and his coach Marco Rose later wanted to take these chances in the early stages as indications that the game was much more balanced than the clear result indicated. “It was a victory for effectiveness,” said Hummels, “but not a 4-1 game.” And Rose also found that his team was just less consistent in defending and attacking.
Dortmund is often subject to other top teams this season
It is doubtful whether this interpretation is good for the people of Dortmund. Rather, a pattern repeated itself that could already be seen in the ghost game times. Against the first Bayern Munich (2: 3), against the third Bayer Leverkusen (2: 5) or in the Champions League against Ajax Amsterdam (0: 4 and 1: 3), BVB under Rose clearly lost numbers. And after the presentation of the Leipzig team under the direction of Tedesco, who only took over after a false start from RB under Jesse Marsch, they can be happy at BVB that this competitor only got going late this season.
The still secure position of coach Marco Rose at Dortmund could have a lot to do with the fact that the squad, which is of good quality, has recently won many work wins in the league. That cemented a clear second place, still six points ahead of Leverkusen and even nine ahead of Leipzig. The Champions League qualification, which is vital in Dortmund, seems safe. But the true level of performance is shown in duels like against Leipzig, and above all in the miserable elimination in the Champions League, Europa League and DFB Cup. A finally sold-out stadium does not help against this diagnosis either.
The BVB team is to be rebuilt in the summer
At the end of the season, Dortmund wants to rebuild the team as much as possible. In a number of positions. As is so often the case against Leipzig, it seemed as if the team could use several Jude Bellinghams – the young Englishman was pretty much the only Dortmund player who could hold his own. Or BVB could need a rock-solid player like Konrad Laimer, who played on the other side. Laimer also gave Christopher Nkunku the 3-0 lead for Leipzig, Donyell Malen reduced the deficit shortly before the end, and Dani Olmo added the 4-1.
Marco Rose should then create the new BVB for the coming season. The audience, who can finally be there again, will see it mostly with skepticism. The memory of last summer is still too young, when BVB defeated the same Leipzigers, then still with Julian Nagelsmann as coach, in the cup final in Berlin. The coach at the time was Edin Terzic. He saw the 1:4 that evening from the stands.