Desolate appearances
The enigmatic BVB – how the Dortmund lost almost all title chances in a few days
Jude Bellingham shows it: BVB is currently trending downwards.
© Ronny Hartmann / AFP
Borussia Dortmund was considered the team of the hour in 2023, and several titles seemed within reach. Only one win from the last five games is cause for concern. And the appearance of the team.
When the DFB Cup quarter-finals between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund came to an end, the frustration had to come out: Jude Bellingham complained to the referee and saw yellow, Donyell Malen complained to the referee and saw yellow, Mats Hummels lay down with the Leipziger bench – and saw yellow. The Dortmund supporters would have hoped for the performance of their team on the pitch in a similarly dynamic way as Dortmund’s mouthwork showed in the last few minutes in the 0-2 defeat in Leipzig – but they were bitterly disappointed. again. The realization remains: BVB lacks the maturity for titles.
At the beginning of March everything was still pink in the black and yellow world. BVB celebrated a lucky home win against Leipzig, putting Bavaria at the top of the table under further pressure. But only a few days later this world began to crack. After winning 1-0 in the first leg, the Westphalians were eliminated at Chelsea after a rather lackluster performance in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, and their (unrealistic) chance of winning the title was gone. Another sobering appearance against Schalke was followed by the famous 6-1 win against 1. FC Köln, in which BVB played the ailing Cologne team against the wall at times and took the lead in the Bundesliga. However, after the international break, the joy of a possible championship and an end to the Bayern dominance that has lasted for ten years has given way to disillusionment and the realization that this team is anything but ready for a title.
Unimaginative and sluggish – BVB is in a sporting crisis
Losing the games in Munich and Leipzig is annoying from Dortmund’s point of view, but it can happen – but the way BVB performed in both league and DFB Cup games is worrying. After an initially good start, BVB collapsed completely after conceding the first goal in Munich and were mercilessly overrun by Bayern. The fact that it was no clearer than 0:3 at the break was more due to the hosts’ usury of chances than to BVB. The fact that it was only 2:4 in the end was more related to Bayern’s gentle pace than Dortmund’s rebellion, who hardly created any significant chances over the entire season. But anyone who thought that the defeat in Munich was just a series of debacles in the Allianz Arena that had lasted for years and that the old BVB would be back in the next game was bitterly disappointed.
Because while the first ten minutes in Munich were still acceptable, BVB were mercilessly overrun in Leipzig from the start. The only positive finding of the first half is that Gregor Kobel was in top form again and kept the game open for an unnecessarily long time from Leipzig’s point of view. However, the other ten Dortmund on the field presented themselves more or less as slalom poles, a significantly higher lead in Leipzig would have been well deserved. The Dortmund build-up game in particular proved catastrophic, in which BVB presented itself sluggishly, kept running into the Leipzig pressing and had to accept simple ball losses. On the other hand, Edin Terzic’s team didn’t show any resentment either. The tackle rate of 37 percent is not worthy of a top team, only 38 percent of the dribbles were successful (Leipzig: 71 percent). “If you don’t pass the ball to yourself in the passing game, but simply distribute bombs and leave the teammate alone. We simply have to learn from this that you don’t need four ball contacts to make a decision,” Terzic complained after the final whistle.
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With the short-term absence of striker Sébastien Haller, BVB also revealed another weakness that could already be seen in the first half of the season without Haller, who was suffering from cancer. Dortmund lacked the target player at the top, who can fix and distribute balls as a passing station. Both Donyell Malen and the substitute Youssofa Moukoko could hardly put themselves in the limelight due to a lack of passes. The creative department around Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro, which was so highly praised recently, did not provide any creative impetus, as it did last time in Munich. The Dortmund midfield acted almost planless and motionless. Most spectators probably only noticed that captain Marco Reus was set up when he was substituted in the 76th minute. It is symptomatic of the Dortmund game that Jamie Bynoe-Gittens had Dortmund’s only notable chance in the sixth minute of added time – a goal would have turned the course of the game completely upside down.
Terzic criticizes all players – except for one
“We’re going home with a bit of anger,” Edin Terzic announced after the defeat in Munich. After the renewed offensive and defensive revelation in a top game, however, the 40-year-old decided on Tuesday evening for an all-round attack. “On offense we were surprised that there were duels when we got the ball. On defense we were too far apart,” Terzic complained late on Wednesday evening. It was not the case that this only affected one player, but all “except Gregor (Kobel, editor’s note), we have to take him out of there”.
But Terzic and Dortmund’s sports director Sebastian Kehl should have noticed after their appearances in top games in the past few weeks that the Dortmund game quickly reaches its limits. “You have to say that we didn’t show the performance in London, in Munich and now here in Leipzig to get to the top,” said Kehl after the defeat in Leipzig.
BVB has already lost two possible titles, in order to win the championship, Dortmund must hope for further slip-ups from Bayern, who are not so solid in the saddle. But after two desolate performances within four days, the self-proclaimed master candidate no longer wants to say the M-word. “It would be presumptuous to talk about it. First of all, we have to straighten it out in terms of performance,” explained a visibly frustrated Terzic. BVB has the chance to do that on Saturday – in the top game against Union Berlin. It’s probably the last one to prove that you can play for a title after all, or at least accept the fight for it.