Any thoughts that Borussia Dortmund might return from the Bundesliga’s mid-season break a completely changed team from the one seen before it - a team which hadn’t shown even the slightest bit of consistency and stability and had thus fallen behind in the chase for a top-four spot and a berth in next season’s Champions League - were swiftly put to rest following their match against Bayer Leverkusen.
Reigning Bundesliga champions Leverkusen raced out to an early 2-0 lead with Nathan Tella and Patrik Schick getting their names on the scoresheet within the first eight minutes of the match. Shortly after, Dortmund would halve the deficit when Jamie Gittens took advantage of Robert Andrich’s misplayed clearance to put it in from close range. Seven minutes later, Schick would score his second, ensuring that Leverkusen’s two-goal lead would be restored heading into half-time.
Dortmund were handed a late lifeline when in the 79th minute, Edmond Tapsoba fouled Julien Duranville in the box. Serhou Guirassy stepped forward to convert the penalty; however, that would be as close as Dortmund would come. With this latest loss, Die Schwarzgelbe have now won just one of their last five league matches and including this one, none of their last three at home.
To be fair to Dortmund, this was always going to be a difficult encounter following the personnel issues they’d experienced. Six players missed the match for various reasons including three of Dortmund’s usual starting back four. That being said, even most of Dortmund’s regular starters certainly looked out of sorts throughout the first half and only began to come to life after the break with players such as Maximilian Beier, Felix Nmecha, and Gregor Kobel having underwhelming showings at Signal Iduna Park. Notably, backup right-back Yan Couto was arguably Dortmund’s best player against Leverkusen - a clear indictment on the rest of the squad’s level of play not just in this match, but in general over the course of the season.
Another point that has to be addressed concerns Gittens. The Englishman is one of world football’s rising stars and at just 20, appears to have sky-high potential. He was one of the relatively few Dortmund players to have a solid performance against Leverkusen and is very possibly already Dortmund’s best player. Gittens’ rise makes it even more crucial for Dortmund to qualify for next season’s Champions League - should they fail to do so, there’s a very real possibility that the Berkshire-born winger will leave the club in the coming off-season. Gittens has already been linked with a move to several major clubs including, much to the dismay of Dortmund’s fanbase, arch-rivals Bayern Munich. That would unquestionably be a nightmare scenario for Dortmund; however, it’s one which might actually be realistic at this point.
Once again, the elephant in the room has to be addressed as well: for how long will Dortmund persist with Nuri Şahin in the dugout? Ever since accepting the position as Dortmund’s head coach this past off-season, the Turk has shown almost nothing but sheer incompetence. Once again, he fumbled the tactical setup and substitutions; with just about anyone else coaching, this could easily have been a winnable game.
At this point, it’s obvious that Dortmund’s ownership and front office are only keeping Şahin around for sentimental reasons - as a player, he was a club icon who spent ten and a half seasons at Dortmund, making 223 league appearances for the club. However, the fans in general ran out of patience months ago - it’s obvious by now that the longer Şahin stays in the position, the worse things will get for Dortmund. It’s long past time for the club to rip off the bandage, fire Şahin, and reset.
This isn’t yet an unsalvageable season for Borussia Dortmund, though. They still do have a realistic chance of making the top four in the league; they could also finish in the top eight of the league phase of the Champions League, allowing them to go straight into the round of 16. However, the way this season has gone so far, it isn’t particularly likely that either - let alone both - will end up happening. There can be no question that right now, Dortmund are headed in the wrong direction.
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