Borussia Dortmund stops the bleeding
- Chuck Smith
- Feb 25, 2019
- 2 min read
For much of the season, Borussia Dortmund has looked like an unstoppable juggernaut rampaging through the Bundesliga. Since the start of 2019, however, BVB has struggled with injuries and consistency, while also just suffering from overall subpar play.
Among the disappointing results have been a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League and thoroughly disheartening performances against FC Nurnberg (draw), Hoffenheim (draw), Werder Bremen (DFB-Pokal loss), and Eintracht Frankfurt (draw). This is not to disparage the quality of such fine teams as Eintracht Frankfurt or Hoffenheim, but it shows how far from dominant Dortmund has looked of late.
BVB, however, dug deep into its bank of resolve and was able to hold off a rejuvenated Bayer Leverkusen side for a 3-2 victory on Sunday. While on the surface it may just appear to be one victory, it was much more than that for a team that sorely needed a win over a good team.
Without Marco Reus, Dortmund has clearly not been the same. The 29-year-old Germany international's knee injury has removed the bit of drive and tenacity that defined the first half of the season for Dortmund. When Reus returns, it will be interesting to see if he can rekindle that magic that he brought so effectively in the Hinrunde.
Regardless, Dortmund's brass was just happy to survive a very hungry Leverkusen side. In The Guardian, both coach Lucien Favre and sporting director Michael Zorc acknowledged that it was not a legendary effort, but was totally necessary for Dortmund to being to regroup:
“They were better than us,” said Lucien Favre, with customary frankness. He was right. When Dan-Axel Zagadou sidefooted in a corner to give Dortmund a first-half lead, it followed half an hour in which they barely got the ball out of their own half. “That,” sporting director Michael Zorc said with some understatement, “was of course not the plan. At home, you want to attack and you want to dominate.”
After BVB's Dan-Axel Zagadou (30') and Leverkusen's Kevin Volland (37') exchanged goals, Jadon Sancho countered just one minute after Volland to erase any momentary doubt that might have begun to seep in.
Mario Gotze tacked on a second half goal to extend Dortmund's lead to 3-1 before, Die Werkself's Jonathan Tah struck at the 75-minute mark.
The scoring would end there, however, and the Black and Yellows could breathe a little easier as it kept its three-point lead over Bayern Munich in the table.
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