Dortmund ‘in crisis’ as defeat to Bayern puts them in relegation zone
BORUSSIA Dortmund are facing a crisis after the club’s worst start in 48 years of competing in the Bundesliga left the 2011 and 2012 champions in a relegation place.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at rivals Bayern Munich was the club’s seventh in ten games, their fifth in a row, heightening the sense of alarm. Dortmund had actually taken the lead in the first half through Marco Reus – the first league goal Bayern had let in for 688 minutes. But Pep Guardiola’s men hit back after the break with Robert Lewandowski scoring and then Arjen Robben winning it from the spot.
“Every defeat hurts and the pain increases with the frequency with which we’re losing in the Bundesliga,” said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp, whose side have already lost as many league games as in the whole of last season. “It’s anything but good, what has happened. We’ve a lot of construction sites and many of the defeats are self-inflicted.”
On Dortmund’s lowly league position, Klopp added: “It’s lousy of course. But you can get confidence back, so that’s the cool thing.”
Two mistakes from Neven Subotic cost Klopp’s side dearly in Munich – a clearance went straight to former team-mate Lewandowski for the equaliser and the defender conceded a penalty after Franck Ribery blocked another attempted clearance – but the 2-1 scoreline arguably flattered Dortmund, who had only four efforts on target compared to Bayern’s 18.
Dortmund have conceded in every league game this season, and only Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt have conceded more goals.
They are also proving scarce at the other end following Lewandowski’s switch to Bayern. After ten league games last season, Dortmund were second in the table with 25 goals scored, three more than leaders Bayern. The side have only 11 goals at the same stage this season.
Bayern are taking great pleasure from Dortmund’s travails. Fans celebrated their side’s deserved win by chanting that Dortmund will be playing in the second division. “It’s a lovely feeling to beat Dortmund, even if they’re not where they should be in the table,” said Thomas Müller, whose side appears to have the Bundesliga wrapped up already after only ten games.
Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer said his side weren’t to blame if the Bundesliga was becoming less interesting. “It’s up to the league to provide the excitement, not us,” said Sammer, a former Bundesliga-winning Dortmund player and coach.
Dortmund were left languishing in the bottom two after they were yesterday overhauled by Freiburg, who won 1-0 at Cologne for their first league victory of the season. Vladimir Darida converted a penalty early in the second half after Mergim Mavraj handled Admir Mehmedi’s cross to move Freiburg up to 16th with eight points, leaving Dortmund and Werder Bremen in the bottom two with seven each.
In Spain, meanwhile, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique says he is not worried despite his side suffering their second straight defeat and losing the Primera Division lead to rivals Real Madrid.
Celta Vigo won 1-0 at the Nou Camp, the first time in 56 home games Barca have failed to score, meaning Real’s 4-0 victory over Granada took them top of the league. Barca were on top for most of the game and hit the crossbar four times, but could not find the net, and Joaquin Larrivey’s goal decided the match in Celta’s favour. Enrique said: “We had 19 shots and hit the bar four times. We deserved to win but the game rewards efficiency.
“I’m not worried. I would be with a different attitude from the players, but not like that. What I am is furious, like all the dressing room. Defeats always create doubt. Humans usually look externally in these situations but we will look inside.”
Meanwhile, World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi has retired from football management. The 66-year-old Italian announced his decision yesterday, after winning a third successive Chinese league title with Guangzhou Evergrande.
Lippi, who also won the 2013 Asian Champions League, said: “I don’t want to coach any more, I’m too old. Guangzhou Evergrande will have a new coach next season.”