A tale of two halves: The fallout from Borussia Dortmund’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt

What went wrong – Sloppy defending, lethargy cost Borussia Dortmund in the first half

Borussia Dortmund’s approach to the Frankfurt game in the first half mimicked much of what many fans have complained about in previous games where the team came out with less than they could achieve in terms of points. They started the game off brightly, but the intensity seemed to drop quite sharply after the first 10 to 15 minutes. Their creativity seemed to dissipate and they weren’t able to stamp their authority on their opponents.

Frankfurt quickly went on the offensive and pressured Dortmund, taking advantage of this drop in intensity. Two Rafael Santos Borré goals cut the Black and Yellows open, exposing defensive flaws that proved much still has to change in the Dortmund camp.

The first was the result of a free kick close to Borussia Dortmund’s box in the 14th minute. Filip Kostic curled the ball past all of Dortmund’s players and Borre capitalized, putting it past Gregor Kobel who seemed taken by surprise. Despite making it to the ball, he let it slip and Dortmund were behind.

The second goal, which came in the 23rd minute, was even more messy from a Dortmund perspective. They gave the ball away in midfield and a quick counter attack once again put Die Schwarzgelben under pressure.

Marco Reus found himself in the box and he tried to bail his teammates out, but Borré was once again in the right place at the right time to pick his pocket. The goal was once again the result of disorganization at the back and a lack of intensity in midfield that often costs Dortmund important points.

Eintracht Frankfurt came close to taking advantage of this disorganization and chaos on a couple of other occasions as well. But ultimately, their lack of composure in front of goal let them down and cost them the win.