RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Dortmund: Key Talking Points

Final Thoughts

The unfamiliarity with one’s teammates on the pitch is something that doesn’t just plague Borussia Dortmund’s defensive structure, but the team as a whole. The club is going through yet another injury crisis where players are frequently rotated and little to no chemistry and cohesion is allowed to develop. This only exacerbates the disjointed nature of the team’s displays, especially when they are so clearly still struggling to figure out just who they want to be this season in terms of their style of play vs who they need to be to make sure that the personnel available and the system deployed exist in some semblance of harmony.

The fact of the matter is that injuries dictate the need for players such as Anthony Modeste or Alexander Meyer to play key roles on the pitch despite the fact that they would not be the first choices on the team sheet if injuries and health concerns weren’t something the club was dealing with. Both players have shortcomings that have been illustrated, but these shortcomings have been exacerbated by the team’s unwillingness or inability to adapt.

In defense, players like  Guerreiro and Meunier have not modified their already suspect styles of play to help reinforce the back line and lend Meyer additional support. Guerreiro in particular continues to display body language that at times cuts the image of someone who is dejected when beaten for pace. Meunier’s carelessness in possession also left his teammates out to dry for Leipzig’s third goal.

In attack, a sense of either inability or unwillingness to adapt to the necessary style of play has left  Modeste isolated up front, with Terzić seemingly adamant on continuing to stick with the current gameplay week in, week out. Surely he has to see that the situation calls for a different solution, despite having slim resources to choose from due to the current situation.

I do commend Terzić for the introduction of Justin Njinmah, which wasn’t something many expected. He did add energy to the game, as did the inclusions of both Giovanni Reyna and Youssoufa Moukoko. The changes in question, at least in my opinion, came far too late in the game for them to have the impact that they perhaps could have, given more time to get into the groove of the game.

The problems that Dortmund are facing are varying and numerous. There are various levers at work that are at fault for Dortmund’s result against Leipzig, and each one of these levers must be examined in great detail by Terzić in particular. He was brought in to bring the fire back to Dortmund that they allegedly lost under Marco Rose, but this result, and previous performances this season still show the same basic lack of identity Rose was criticized for during his year in charge of Dortmund.

Even with this in mind, the comparison between Terzić and Rose’s tenure is not meant to hold Terzić to the same standards as his predecessor. In fact, Rose’s tenure with Dortmund should be taken as a cautionary tale, one that shouldn’t be repeated with Terzić.  Dortmund’s most recent encounter with Leipzig should be taken as a wake up call of the highest calibre by everyone at the club. It should not be a cause for doubt or division but a point from which the proper conclusions are drawn and tangible solutions are born; solutions that don’t pin the nature of the team’s performances on the shoulders of one individual, but take a deeper dive into what is really causing these woeful performances and unprecedented injuries to rack up consistently.