Postmatch Reaction: Dortmund Shutout by Frankfurt in 2-0 Loss
The slide down the table continues
Borussia Dortmund continue their losing spree to begin 2025, and have now lost three straight Bundesliga games. In that period, they were outscored nine to four, held an average possession of 71%, and featured three different formations. Things are simply broken.
Things began similarly to the other two matches and Borussia Dortmund were under pressure immediately. Frankfurt had two shots within the opening two minutes despite Dortmund having the lion’s share of the ball. Despite not having Marmoush, Frankfurt had no difficulty slicing through Borussia Dortmund in the 18th minute as Rasmus Kristensen slipped behind a jogging Rami Bensebaini and played a cut-back to Hugo Ekitike. The French striker had no trouble burying the ball past Gregor Kobel to give the hosts the lead and Bensebeaini fell to his knees despite refusing to show any effort on the defensive end. Ansgar Knauff almost doubled the score minutes later but his shot ricochetted off the post. Frankfurt then set the temp for the rest of the match – absorb and counter. It worked perfectly.
This current iteration of Borussia Dortmund has shown itself to struggle with even the simplest chance creation and Frankfurt understood the game plan. Halftime came and went with the hosts leading and creating more chances despite Dortmund’s players having twice the time on the ball. Sahin rolled out an experimental starting XI and allowed Pascal Gross to set the tempo while Julian Brandt played out wide. The former struggled to find forward passes while the latter was often relegated to being a bystander. Frankfurt hardly broke out of their half but looked dangerous every time they did. On the other end of the field, Dortmund spent much of the match passing horizontally forty yards away from Dortmund’s goal. The hosts buried the game in the 91st minute when Emre Can had his pocket picked to overload Dortmund’s center-backs in a three versus two to seal the game. Here are the highlights:
