:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63072326/1124725836.jpg.0.jpg)
Dortmund travelled to Nürnberg to play a Bundesliga match on a Monday, so the situation was already off to a terrible start given the fact that Bundesliga fans hate Monday fixtures. Lucien Favre was limited in his squad selection, and the back line consisted of misfits and out-of-position players.
The referee blew the whistle and the match began, with Dortmund dominating possession and Nürnberg happy to sit back defending with the occasional counterattack. Fortunately for Dortmund, Roman Bürki was able to save two back-to-back headers that very easily could have gone into the back of the net.
On the other end of the pitch, not much was happening and generally Dortmund looked shaky on the ball. Eventually, Jadon Sancho had the ball in the box and was brought down by a Nürnberg defender in what should have been a clear penalty, but the referee decided against it. With the ball that Sancho lost in that moment, Mario Götze was able to get two shots on target, both saved by the Nürnberg goalkeeper. Later on, Dortmund had another great chance to score with a Sancho header looking like it was going in, but once again, Nürnberg’s goalkeeper channeled his inner Iker Casillas and kept the ball out.
In the first half’s stoppage time, Dortmund earned a corner kick but the Nürnberg fans rained down a volley of tennis balls from the stands onto the pitch, and instead of clearing the area so play could resume, the referee blew the whistle for halftime, taking away Dortmund’s corner kick, and the first half ended with a 0-0 scoreline.
The second half started, the players came out, and the next thing I knew, the referee blew for full time. That’s how forgetful the second half was. Paco was involved in a few opportunities to score but nothing came to fruition. The referee blew the whistle and the match ended 0-0.
Borussia Dortmund have dropped points yet again, now sitting a mere 3 points ahead of Niko Kovač’s Bayern Munich, and one can only wonder how long they can hold on to this Bundesliga lead.