Mainz 05 3-1 Borussia Dortmund: Takeaways from predictable defeat

Borussia Dortmund continued their winless run away from home in the Bundesliga as they suffered their fourth straight league outside of the Westfalenstadion, losing 3-1 to Mainz 05. To make matters even more worse, this was Mainz's first home win in the current campaign.

Emre Can's early red card certainly was a deciding factor, as the BVB captain made a poor tackle and deservedly got a straight red in the 27th minute. However, there is no shame in admitting that BVB were already underperforming with 11 men. Sahin's team could not keep a hand on possession against Mainz, who quickly took advantage after the sending off.

After the red card, Sahin decided not to make any substitutions and asked Felix Nmecha to close the gap left by the captain. It did not work as hoped, as Nmecha was at least partially at fault in Mainz's first two goals. Serhou Guirassy even tried to keep BVB fans' hopes up by winning a penalty to equalise. But it wasn't enough, as Mainz made their superiority count by claiming a vital win.

Here are some takeaways from Borussia Dortmund’s 3-1 defeat to Mainz 05.