Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac discussed all the issues plaguing his side in the final third right now as they play Sabah FK in the Champions League tomorrow.
It's been a miserable return to action post the international break for them, with the BVB failing to win any of their three matches so far, including a 1-0 loss to Bodo/Glimt last week.
One major factor behind their struggles right now has been the lack of attacking firepower as Kovac's side have failed to score in their last two games for the first time since February 2025.
In the draw against Werder Bremen too, Dortmund needed 80 minutes to finally break the deadlock as the side has persistently failed to convert possession game into meaningful opportunities.
Kovac addressed this problem in his press conference before the Azerbaijan trip, listing out everything that BVB must get right in the attacking half:
"We need to play much more accurately, much more precisely, and much more automatically in the final third."
In the draw with Union Berlin on Saturday, Dortmund had just two shots on target from 64% possession. Kovac lamented his side's inability to fully test their defense while urging his side to start scoring goals again.
"Union defended well, but we also didn’t play the way I would have liked. Because it would have been possible to attack behind the opponent’s defense to ultimately break through their line. We need to get back to doing that quickly, because you can only win games by scoring goals."
Dortmund failed to score in the Bundesliga for the first time this season and were rendered goalless in Norway too, marking their fourth Champions League game in six where the BVB fired a blank going forward.
Moreover, the loss plunged them to 18th place in the competition's table with three points in two games as the Bundesliga side finds themselves in the playoff spots again as last season. Dortmund must finish inside the top eight spots to achieve a direct place in the Round of 16, where they failed to reach in their 2025-26 European campaign after a catastrophic 4-1 loss to Atalanta in the second-leg of their playoff tie.
Without a win in three games now, their worst run since February 2026, the pressure is firmly on the Prussians now to bounce back and arrest their downward spiral as they travel to Baku, Azerbaijan for another potentially tricky fixture.
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