Second half implosion sees Borussia Dortmund lose to FC Köln

Borussia Dortmund imploded in the second half yet again, as FC Köln came from behind to hand them a 3-2 defeat.

Borussia Dortmund’s mixed start to the season continued on Saturday afternoon as they suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of FC Köln. Despite taking the lead in the first half through Julian Brandt, the Black and Yellows never looked to be in control of the game. And the Billy Goats took full advantage in the second half, with Florian Kainz, Steffen Tigges and Dejan Ljubičić scoring to secure a famous win.

Already faced with an injury crisis, Edin Terzic was forced into making two further late changes to his starting XI after Mats Hummels and Marius Wolf were sidelined due to illness. Salih Özcan managed to shake off his foot issue to start in midfield alongside Jude Bellingham, who captained the side.

The game got off to a fairly slow start with both teams needing some time to find their match rhythm following the international break.

Borussia Dortmund created a couple of good opportunities and finally found the breakthrough at the half hour mark, with Julian Brandt opening the scoring after getting on the end of Jude Bellingham’s pass and breaking his way past the Köln defence.

Karim Adeyemi and Donyell Malen both forced saves from the Köln goalkeeper as Borussia Dortmund looked to add to their narrow lead before the break.

FC Köln came out of the blocks quickly in the second half and they got their equaliser in the 53rd minute. Florian Kainz took full advantage of some sluggish defending from Borussia Dortmund to make it 1-1.

BVB’s woes worsened just three minutes later, as Steffen Tigges headed home from a corner to give Köln the lead after being left unmarked inside the box. Dejan Ljubičić then found the bottom corner with a well placed strike from the edge of the box to make it 3-1 and sink the title hopefuls further.

Borussia Dortmund did manage to pull a goal back late on when Tom Rothe’s cross was deflected into the back of the net. But there was not to be a dramatic late twist to the game, as Edin Terzic’s side fell to their third league defeat of the season.

Up next for Borussia Dortmund is a trip to Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League. And they will need to deliver a much improved performance if they are to have any chance of getting something out of that game.