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Key takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s first ever home defeat to Mainz

By Tyler Flynn

DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 05: Alexander Hack of Mainz (R) challenges Christian Pulisic of Dortmund (L) during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Signal Iduna Park on May 5, 2018 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 05: Alexander Hack of Mainz (R) challenges Christian Pulisic of Dortmund (L) during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Signal Iduna Park on May 5, 2018 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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Even though the black and yellows lost to Mainz at home this weekend, Bayer Leverkusen’s draw with Werder Bremen has put Borussia Dortmund in a practically guaranteed Champions League spot. A season of ups and downs has resulted in the end goal of European football, but the club must do a lot of work over the summer to prepare for next season.

Here are the key takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 loss vs Mainz.

Jadon Sancho is the Real Deal

The crafty Englishman keeps proving to Borussia Dortmund on why he belongs in the starting lineup every weekend. Sancho has provided excellent wing play over the last few games, and he is creating constant problems for opposing defenses.

Today, he played a great ball into the box and assisted on Maximilian Philipp’s goal. The eighteen-year-old also played some dangerous balls into the box in the second half, but Borussia Dortmund failed to capitalize. Sancho should be a key piece in the black and yellows future, and look for him to play a big role next season.

Jadon Sancho was brilliant once again for Borussia Dortmund (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga/DFL via Getty Images )
Jadon Sancho was brilliant once again for Borussia Dortmund (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga/DFL via Getty Images ) /

The Defense Has Moments of Being Brutally Poor

Borussia Dortmund have had problems all year long on defense. Age is catching up with their top two fullbacks, and the center back play has been average at best. Mainz took advantage of the black and yellows sloppy defense, and punished them twice for it early in the first half.

The first goal was brilliantly set up by Mainz, but Borussia Dortmund left a man open at the top of the box to get a free shot on target. This was due to poor marking and unawareness from the central defense.

Lukasz Piszczek and co. struggled to cope with Mainz’ pace on the counter attack (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga/DFL via Getty Images )
Lukasz Piszczek and co. struggled to cope with Mainz’ pace on the counter attack (Photo by Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga/DFL via Getty Images ) /

The second goal was even worse, as Toprak gave Mainz too much space in the box to win a free header and score. If Borussia Dortmund does not improve the defense over the summer, they will struggle mightily next season.

Borussia Dortmund Cannot Score When Opponents Park the Bus

The creativity is usually there for Borussia Dortmund, but they cannot score when opponents park the bus. They find it difficult to find pockets of space because the area around the box is so crowded. This leads to the black and yellows sending in crosses from wide positions most of the time.

Mario Gotze and co. struggled to find a breakthrough past Mainz’ defense (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Mario Gotze and co. struggled to find a breakthrough past Mainz’ defense (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

The club needs to learn to break down defenses better to create more efficient chances for themselves, otherwise they will continue to struggle around the net. In addition, the team always fails to make the last pass to create golden opportunities. Today, they had a few chances that easily could have been goals, but the last pass was done incorrectly or it took a deflection in favor of Mainz.

Thank You Roman!

As a fan, it was disappointing to see Weidenfeller not play his last home game at Signal Iduna Park, but hopefully he plays the last game of the season away at Hoffenheim next weekend.

Borussia Dortmund experienced a golden age with Weidenfeller in net, and the club won two league titles, two German cups, a Super cup, and were even runners up in the Champions League one season.

Roman Weidenfeller received a token of appreciation before the game from Michael Zorc and Hans Joachim Watzke (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images)
Roman Weidenfeller received a token of appreciation before the game from Michael Zorc and Hans Joachim Watzke (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images) /

From all of us at BVB Buzz, thank you for the memories Roman! Echte Liebe!

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