Borussia Dortmund: Highs and lows from the title-winning 2010/11 season

DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 14: Players of Dortmund celebrate with the trophy after the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at Signal Iduna Park on May 14, 2011 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY - MAY 14: Players of Dortmund celebrate with the trophy after the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at Signal Iduna Park on May 14, 2011 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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PARIS – NOVEMBER 04: Mats Hummels of Borussia challenges Peguy Luyindula of PSG during the UEFA Europa League Group J match between Paris Saint Germain and Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes on November 4, 2010 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
PARIS – NOVEMBER 04: Mats Hummels of Borussia challenges Peguy Luyindula of PSG during the UEFA Europa League Group J match between Paris Saint Germain and Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes on November 4, 2010 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /

Low: No Europa League run

To go with the early cup exit, Borussia Dortmund also struggled in Europe. While they would comfortably take care of Qarabag to qualify for the group stage, that was as good as it got for them.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were drawn into a group with Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Karpaty Lviv. The group had an exciting start, with Dortmund coming back to beat Lviv 4-3 with late goals Lucas Barrios and Mario Gotze.

From there it went downhill, with Dortmund losing to Sevilla at home before consecutive draws against PSG. A 3-0 win in the reverse fixture against Lviv gave Dortmund a chance to advance on the last day in Seville, but the hope would be lost after a 2-2 draw, when only a win would have sufficed.

Similar to the DFB Pokal, not winning the Europa league was hardly the end of the world for a side that won the league. It was still a lost opportunity for the side to gain some experience in Europe with a deep run, and that could have proved valuable for them as they would have a similar fate in the Champions League the following season.