Dortmund's Champions League ship has sailed
There is not a single Bundesliga team with more defeats in 2025 than Borussia Dortmund. That begs the question, how realistic is European qualification at this point?
"Logically, the opportunities are dwindling. They are gonna have to go on a run, but they still have the current Champions League campaign to focus on as well, which will also cost some energy."Rudi Völler
Additionally, Völler believes that, despite the growing pains, BVB is on the right track with Niko Kovač:
"I try to be optimistic. Sure, the first half was not so good, but the second half was the best I have seen Dortmund in the last months, maybe even 1-2 years. It is remarkable to create that many chances against a strong Leipzig team. I felt that it was a team that wanted to win until the end. The bottom line is I think Niko is on the right path."Rudi Völler
A summary that is too lenient, in my opinion. Yes, the second half looked astounding, but simultaneously, it was wildly inefficient, which brings us back to the discussion about the absence of consistency in some areas. I believe that if Leipzig had taken the chances that they had in the first half and scored 3-4 goals, the conversation would be different. Who's to say that this team doesn't entirely fall apart in that scenario?
Kovač is fighting an uphill battle by taking over this team midseason, and I commend him for that. But winning 2 out of 6 Bundesliga games shouldn't leave much praise to go around. Although Kovač has shown some encouraging approaches, I'm not entirely convinced that we're on "the right path."