Waldemar Anton: “The basics” were missing from Borussia Dortmund’s game vs Stuttgart

Borussia Dortmund had a woeful showing in the Bundesliga this past weekend as they lost to fellow top-five contenders VFB Stuttgart, with the Swabians putting 5 goals past Dortmund's defense. Serhou Guirassy was able to answer against his former club but that was too little too late to start a comeback for Die Schwarzgelben.

Fellow former Stuttgart player Waldemar Anton spoke about the game in a post-match interview, stating that Dortmund, as a whole, had not done the basics right:

"We didn't play a good game today. The basics were missing today. We had the ball in phases, that was okay. But defensively, it was nothing today. In any case, we have to think about what was the cause. We will certainly have to discuss this in the next few days. Such a game must never happen to us again."

- Waldemar Anton

Anton’s statement that Dortmund wasn’t present defensively is one of the main highlights of this loss. It was far too easy for Stuttgart to weave their way into dangerous positions, and for the majority of the game, Dortmund’s back line could hardly find an answer to their attacking play. The most telling goal was the one scored by Ermedin Demirović for 2-0 where Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck allowed a sizable gap to form in the box. Demirović went unmarked and while his header was still impressive, it was a gift to Stuttgart considering the absolute lack of coverage he was afforded.

Similarly frustrating was Stuttgart’s first goal, where Deniz Undav was able to break the Dortmund defense with relative ease. A slip from Süle allowed Undav the chance to put the ball in the back of the net. Kobel had very little coverage all game and without him in goal, the score-line could’ve been significantly worse.

Anton also commented on the whistles and jeers from Stuttgart fans. While he stated it was to be expected, he hoped that it would put this particular saga to bed:

"Of course, I knew what to expect. I hope this is over with the whole story now. The fans got what they wanted. Nevertheless, that's okay now. I will continue. We will analyze the game. We will sit down and say very clearly that it was not a good game and what was not good."

- Waldemar Anton

Borussia Dortmund has the "little" Revierderby to look forward to this coming Friday against VFL Bochum. Nuri Şahin and his charges, including Anton, have a lot to work on ahead of this game. It is the hope that the aforementioned analysis of this game yields the answers the team needs to bounce back and put in a strong showing against Bochum to get them back on track in the league.