The home defeat against Glasgow is the next bitter evening for Borussia Dortmund – and this does not leave coach Marco Rose unscathed.
The fact that the whistles were not loud at the end of what was a depressing evening from Dortmund’s point of view was solely due to the fact that only 10,000 spectators were admitted against Rangers from Glasgow instead of the eightfold in a full stadium. Dejected, the BVB professionals stood in front of the partially filled South Stand after the 4-2 first leg defeat and didn’t really know what to do. So most of the pros left it with sad expressions and hanging heads before they made their way to the dressing room.
The deserved defeat against an international second-rate opponent was already the third gross misfortune for the Black and Yellows in a year that is not yet very old. After the cup exit at second-division club FC St. Pauli and the 2:5 in the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen, the potentially fatal first leg against Rangers completed the 2022 competition hat-trick of dropouts, with the intervals in between getting smaller and smaller.
Different mistakes in goals conceded
The five goals conceded in the last home game against Leverkusen were followed by four on Thursday, with Rangers doing little more than acting cohesively and taking advantage of the mistakes on offer: the completely unnecessary handball by Dan-Axel Zagadou before the penalty for 0: 1, the passivity of Marco Reus in the header duel before the 0:2 by Alfredo Morelos, whom Julian Brandt lost sight of at the far post, the weak tackling by Manuel Akanji among others before the 0:3, the far too risky duel with ball loss by Youssoufa Moukoko before the 1:4.
The deserved defeat against an international second-rate opponent was already the third gross misfortune for the Black and Yellows in a year that is not yet particularly old. After the cup exit at second-division club FC St. Pauli and the 2:5 in the Bundesliga against Bayer Leverkusen, the potentially fatal first leg against Rangers completed the 2022 competition hat-trick of dropouts, with the intervals in between getting smaller and smaller.
Different mistakes in goals conceded
The five goals conceded in the last home game against Leverkusen were followed by four on Thursday, with Rangers doing little more than acting cohesively and taking advantage of the mistakes on offer: the completely unnecessary handball by Dan-Axel Zagadou before the penalty for 0: 1, the passivity of Marco Reus in the header duel before the 0:2 by Alfredo Morelos, whom Julian Brandt lost sight of at the far post, the weak tackling by Manuel Akanji among others before the 0:3, the far too risky duel with ball loss by Youssoufa Moukoko before the 1:4.
And so Marco Rose is also running out of arguments. After the game, the coach put himself in front of his team and took responsibility, but internally he will have to be clearer. The negative dynamics of the past few weeks, the concentrated lapses of this highly talented team, will inevitably fall back on him. In the summer, the club faces a major upheaval, and the squad will look more and more like Rose envisions it, step by step and position by position. But he must also show by then that he is the right man for this upheaval.
On course in the Bundesliga only
After almost nine months in office, the evidence for this – even taking all adversities into account – is lacking. A playful signature is not consistently recognisable, the years-long problems in the area that is alternatively called mentality, attitude or sharpness are not getting any less, the own external presentation more and more defensive and tight-lipped.
His biggest argument, despite the setback against Leverkusen, remains the still good Bundesliga season with a course of sovereign Champions League qualification – despite already six defeats and 36 goals conceded after 22 match days. Achieving the minimum goal is currently the lowest common denominator among those in charge – doubts about this or even further setbacks of this severity could change that.
