Takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League defeat to Lazio
By Adam Bakr
Champions League road woes continue
This was Borussia Dortmund’s ninth away fixture of the Lucian Favre era in the Champions League. Out of those nine, Dortmund have now lost six. They have been beaten in their last four road games, their worst run since 1958. The loss to Lazio adds to the side’s away defeats against Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
The match followed a similar tone to Borussia Dortmund’s other defeats. Besides their trip to Tottenham, Dortmund went down in the first half, and struggled to take their chances after. The offense did look good in periods this time out, scoring for just the second time in those six losses. They could not build on the goal though, and as they were caught napping on Lazio’s third, which meant that all of the six defeats have been by a margin of at least two goals.
The trip to Rome was always going to be Dortmund’s toughest of the group stage, and they can still bounce back from today’s disappointing defeat. Their next away games are to Belgium to face Club Brugge on matchday three and Russia to face Zenit on the final matchday.
On paper these should be easier fixtures, but the trend of the sides away form in Europe is concerning and neither can be seen as a guaranteed win, especially the trip to Russia, which will come in December, when temperatures there are often freezing.