Match report: Borussia Dortmund suffer disheartening loss to rivals Schalke

Borussia Dortmund suffered a 2-0 defeat to Schalle in the Revierderby, putting serious questions over their top four credentials.

Lineups

Schalke 04

Fahrmann, Stambouli, Naldo, Kehrer, Caliguiri, Goretzka, Bentaleb, Schopf, Harit, Burgstaller, Konoplyanka – Subs: Mckennie, Meyer, Di Santo, Pjaca, Teuchert, Oczipka, Nubel

Borussia Dortmund

Burki, Schmelzer, Toprak, Sokratis, Piszczek, Sahin, Dahoud, Philipp, Rues, Pulisic, Batshuayi – Subs: Weidenfeller, Sancho, Gotze, Akanji, Schurrrle, Castro, Weigl

Weigl and Gotze were on the bench for BVB again this match. Stöger is proven to know what he is doing, but the real questions remain. Have they fallen in order or does Stöger have something else in mind? Regardless, Gotze was tremendous in the first derby this season. Although, keep in mind BVB’s away form has been horrible this season.

First Half

Pulisic almost found the back of the net in the opening minute but got denied by Fahrmann in the end, after Schalke’s orpo defending gave him a sniff. Piszczek’s header came up short in the following corner. Borussia Dortmund started the match as means to bring hard pressure and fast football to the home side.

Burki wasn’t left to stand in-goal; the keeper had his hands full trying to secure a win for his team. He made clutch saves as the ball came towards his goal. Burki is playing better, yet each game brings different results.

Both teams had their fair share of mistakes on the field. Batshuayi gave up a great ball in the middle of a counter-attack just outside the box. Schalke players found themselves incapable of handling direct pressure against them when defending. The aura of the opening goal lingered in the stadium.

The goal was nowhere to be found though. Both teams couldn’t find the back of the net as the half ended in a draw. There was plenty of action as the defense put on a rousing display. In particular, Toprak made excellent defensive choices and found great positioning in this half.

Second half

Schurrle came on for Borussia Dortmund in place of Philipp at half time. Der BVB started the half in attacking mood again. Schurrle’s cross didn’t find its target though. After Schmelzer lost the ball in the middle of the pitch, a quick counter led to Konoplyanka opening the scoring. Burki couldn’t be placed in a better position, the shot was just too much.

The home crowd turned up loudly as their rivals looked to make a comeback. The second and third placed clubs continued the battle as a methodical counter-attack from Dortmund got snuffed out. BVB had the ability to fight out of this on top, but the result needed to be a goal.

Piszczek was shown a yellow card after breaking-up another counter-attack.

Dortmund kept attacking, but the goal would not come for BVB. What’s worse is the attacks were close to a goal. Sancho came on for Dahoud and the attacks led to nothing yet again. In the 82nd minute, Naldo broke the hearts of Dortmund once again, this time with a stunning freekick. Again, no way Burki was going to stop this rocket of a shot.

Next: Player ratings from Borussia Dortmund's loss to Schalke

Gotze came on for Schmelzer late in the game and the impact was minimal. The slow attack built up near the end of the match and it didn’t work for BVB. The full attacking effort in the last 5 minutes of the game was the pressure BVB needed to keep up from start to finish in some matches. This is a prime example of too little too late.

Batshuayi got a crunching tackle from Stambouli and an injured Batshuayi is the last thing the black and yellows needed. Batshuayi had to leave the pitch on a stretcher and his future is in question for the next 4 games. Will Isak be able to step up in Batshuayi’s absence?