Post-Match Reaction: Dortmund Handed A 4-0 Reality Check by Bayern Munich

Going into today’s match, I was quietly hopeful that Borussia Dortmund could pull off some kind of result. Dortmund were at home, Bayern Munich were missing both Joshua Kimmich and Matthijs de Ligt, and Bayern have had a somewhat bumpy season, culminating in a Pokal exit against 3rd tier side Saarbrücken on Wednesday. Needless to say, my hope was quickly killed by Bayern Munich, as they went up 2-0 within just 9 minutes. The 4-0 result at the end is totally deserved. Bayern simply outclassed BVB today, and Edin Terzic will have a lot of questions to answer after a result like this.

Here are my observations from today’s match.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

IF you were just a tiny bit unsure whether Dortmund deserved more from this match, I can safely tell you, that they didn’t. According to FotMob, the final xG reads 1.07 and 3.16 in favor of Bayern Munich. When Deniz Aytekin whistled for half time, Bayern already had two goals with an xG of 1.34. In contrast, Terzic’s men had managed 0.37 xG in the first 45 minutes. Additionally, Dortmund had only one shot on target for the entire game, whereas Bayern racked up eight. If Kobel hadn’t been in fine form, we could easily have conceded more than just the four goals today. In the end, it was a very shocking day from the entire midfield, who basically got ran over, and our backline was totally out-of-sync.

Pragmatic 1-0s Don’t Cut It Against Bayern

The first thing that popped into my mind after the first 45 minutes was that this match reminded me very much of the game against PSG in the Champions League. Dortmund simply didn’t touch the ball in the first half. I don’t know if this has something to do with the players, the tactical system or simply Terzic’s ability to prime his players for a game like this, but the team always seemed two steps behind Bayern.

I think Terzic approached this game very wrong. You win against Bayern by outscoring them and by having a somewhat lucky day in defense, but the team didn’t at all work against the ball. It obviously didn’t help being 2-0 down after nine minutes, but if I know anything about game state, it is that Dortmund should and could have done a lot better after conceding twice. If there’s one thing we’ve learned this season, it is that Bayern can be pressed. Players like Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano and Leon Goretzka aren’t exactly press resistant players. It has worked for Leipzig multiple times. It has worked for Leverkusen earlier this year.

We’re Not Championship Material

I think many people actually know this, but sometimes you need a wake-up call like this in order to understand your place in the food chain. Dortmund have taken some positive steps this season, but I still find our play very unconvincing. I can easily count the amount of good games we’ve played this season on just one hand (Bremen, Newcastle and Hoffenheim being recent examples). Today we saw exactly why the club is reluctant to renew Marius Wolf, and while I do like Ryerson a lot, I highly doubt he has the ceiling to become a real elite fullback. I think Özcan’s ceiling is a bit higher, but there’s a reason he was valued at €5m by Köln. This team still needs some pieces to become more consistent, and I hope we can add some as early as January.

Additional Observations:

• Füllkrug was absolutely invisible this game. He wasn’t involved in our play at all. Moukoko is just as deserving of a start at this point.
• One of Schlotterbeck’s worst games in a Dortmund shirt. Had to come at some point, I guess.
• Our subs really had no impact, sadly. I was quite surprised not to see JBG introduced to the game, after his very good display against Hoffenheim.

Your Thoughts?

What are your thoughts about this game and Dortmund’s position currently. Like, I know the game was shit, but are you optimistic for a top four finish? Was this just a freak accident? Let me know in the comments.