Borussia Dortmund labored to an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Substitute Maximilian Beier struck the only goal of the game in the 80th minute as the BVB returned to winning ways after three games.
The home side enjoyed large spells of possession but were also guilty to losing the ball rather meekly in and around the final third while Frankfurt also managed to ruffle a fea feathers in defense in both halves although Gregor Kobel stood strong in the face of pressure.
Here are three talking points from the match:
1) Kovac ball is painful to watch
Borussia Dortmund might have won the game, but they managed to pull it off by playing a rather bland and boring style of football. And it's not the first time we're seeing this from the BVB. This has been the case for a while now, and fans are truly at the end of their tether.
Kovac's side kept losing the ball in attacking areas or watched their momentum fizzle out after a cutback or a pass went begging inside the box with no one to turn it home. The side consistently failed to build passing sequence and were mostly limited to shots from range.
2) Substitutes work their magic again
For the umpteenth time this season already, substitutes came off the bench to save Dortmund the blushes as Jobe Bellingham and Maximilian Beier combined to produce the match-winning moment late on. With only 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Bellingham produced an excellent footwork on the left before finding Beier, who unleashed a pile-driver into the far corner.
This is one area with Kovac reigns supreme. He's carved a niche for himself with a series of intelligent substitutions during his BVB tenure so far, and we were served another glimpse of that tonight with Bellingham and Beier taking the game's initiative after coming on and lifting the side out of the lurch.
3) Bayern would destroy this Dortmund
It's no exaggeration. Bayern Munich would walk all over such a disjointed and haphazard Borussia Dortmund side in the Der Klassiker next weekend. Unlike Frankfurt or Berlin, the Bavarians have the quality to punish BVB for their sloppiness on the ball and make the most of spaces they often leave in behind.
Michael Olise boasts eletric pace, whereas Harry Kane and Luis Diaz can torment a side if given an iota of space to shoot. Considering how lackluster the BVB were tonight in midfield, the Bayern trio must be liking their lips at the prospect of facing this side.
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