Borussia Dortmund Stumbles Again, Loses Bundesliga Lead

steemsports (80)in #sports • 7 years ago

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SteemSports Editors: @velimir / @ldauch

Borussia Dortmund lost the Bundesliga lead following their 4-2 defeat against recently promoted Hannover 96 this past Saturday. Hannover's counter-attacks caused disarray in their rivals defence; resulting in 4 goals, and making it three games since Dortmund last won a league game.

It was just at the start of October when there was talk about how this season was Dortmund's best start to the Bundesliga. Seven matches into it they had 19 points out of 21 possible and had scored 21 while receiving just 2. A record for most goals scored in the first few matches of Bundesliga. They seemed unstoppable, while Bayern was struggling.

It was a thrilling match, with both teams attacking fiercely. Dortmund conceded first after Jonathas scored from the penalty spot in the 20th minute. Ihlas Bebo (40th & 86th) and Felix Klaus (60th); with a wonderful freekick, were the scorers for the home team. On the other side, Dan-Axel Zagadou (27th) and Andriy Yarmolenko (52th) scored for Borussia. Both goals were equalizers, but in the end were not enough.

Andriy Yarmolenko after failing to score on an empty net.

Dortmund was coming from a 2-3 defeat against Leipzig, and a draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. Coupled with this loss, they have now thrown away their great start to the league and a 5-point-lead, allowing Bayern Munich to take the first place. However, they will have to opportunity to retake first place, as they host Bayern next Saturday.

Despite the four goals, the BVB boss says his side's defensive issues are not the result of tactical naivety. "The problem was we could not play our football, it has nothing to do with defending too high up", he stated.

James Rodriguez scored the first for Bayern Munich.

While BVB slumped, Bayern Munich rose to the task and defeated RB Leipzig, which was also looking for a win that would catapult them to first place. The five-time Bundesliga champions won 2-0, and now have a 3-point lead over Dortmund ahead of their clash next weekend.

Leipzig's hopes for a win were put to rest after an early expulsion in the 13th minute. Willi Orban left his team with 10 men when he recurred to take Robben down in order to avoid a 1-1 situation with their keeper. The challenge was initially penalised with a yellow card, however, after consulting with the VAR a red card was shown to Orban.

Robert Lewandowski scored the second goal, but suffered an injury in the process.

James Rodriguez scored the opener in the 19th minute, while Robert Lewandowski put his name on the score sheet in the 39th minute. Their two goals were enough to seal the win against a weakened Leipzig. Nonetheless, Lewandowski had to leave the pitch after scoring his goal due to an injury. This spells bad news for Bayern, who lack a proper replacement for the striker position.

Manager Jupp Heynckes said, "I don't think it is bad. It has to do with the heavy load placed on the player these past weeks". The Polish international will miss the clash with Celtic midweek as a precautionary measure, but Bayern hopes to count with him for the match with BVB next Saturday.

Photo Sources:
www.aztecadeportes.com
www.marca.com