Dortmund pathologically struggles to create spaces
Even with Borussia Dortmund dominating most of the possession (68%), the players had trouble creating chances in spaces. Instead, BVB relied too much on deep crosses to generate chances, which did not materialize into constant chance creation.
Particularly in this match, Dortmund attempted to cross the ball 36 times into Franksfurt's box while having a 14% effectiveness rate with five crosses on target, according to Sofascore.
In other words, the team has been struggling to produce spaces, with players avoiding one-twos and combined plays by attacking defensive gaps. This resulted in an overdependence on quick reverses and crosses in deeper positions, which is not only practice from this matchup against Frankfurt.
Considering the 2025 sample, the same issue presented itself against both Leverkusen and Holstein Kiel. For a club that always praised its offensive playing roots, these recent rituals cannot carry on.
🟡⚫ A tough day for Borussia Dortmund 😔
— BVB Buzz (@BVBBuzz) January 17, 2025
Eintracht Frankfurt handed BVB a 2-0 defeat, leaving fans frustrated with recent results. Check out the player ratings to see who struggled most on the pitch: 🔗👇https://t.co/ZrudiJbuIZ#BVB #BorussiaDortmund #Bundesliga