Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Werder Bremen: Key talking points

Passing inefficiency continues to plague Dortmund both offensively and defensively

Starting off with the most glaring of errors on display, Borussia Dortmund’s passing on both ends of the pitch was relatively abysmal. Many of the players on the field found it hard to connect with each other and threaten Bremen in the box.

In terms of chances created, of the handful in the first half, only two come to mind as instances of play that looked promising. Of these two, the only one of note resulted in Julian Brandt’s opening goal at the end of the first half.

Even though Brandt was the first Dortmund player to breathe life into the team’s performance, he was also one of the key figures at fault for much of what was going wrong up front. He continued to display lapses in awareness and passing ability that left many counter attacking opportunities begging. Be it losing possession or wayward crosses, Brandt’s performance felt marred despite his goal.

Brandt of course was not alone in this. Marco Reus was also guilty of holding onto the ball too long in certain instances of play, allowing Bremen to regain their shape and put an end to any threat the attack in question may have posed.

On the defensive end, poor clearances and lapses in concentration put Dortmund under unnecessary pressure. BVB fans bore witness to lapses from players like Jude Bellingham, who is usually one of the sharpest players on the field, which played into Bremen’s hands and allowed them to score from opportunities that perhaps would’ve been avoided otherwise had the players shown more awareness at the back.