Bundesliga - No statement in the title fight: BVB still lagging behind
More awe than courage, more doubt than confidence - after the 1:1 in the racy top match at Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund's passion was outweighed by disillusionment.
Slowly but surely, the realization is sinking in that the Bundesliga title fight will probably take place without BVB this season. 22:6 shots on goal, 16:1 corners and 62 percent possession in favor of the league leaders from the Rhineland were an expression of their great inferiority. The defensive tactics of the Westphalians, who are known for their attacking prowess, also astounded Leverkusen: "I've never seen Dortmund play like that before. Everyone behind the ball," commented Bayer goalscorer Patrik Schick.
Although the runners-up, already ten points behind, were actually doomed to win, they denied their DNA. They defended their own goal with great dedication and quality, but after taking an early lead through Julian Ryerson (5th minute), hardly made any impact in attack. Even when Leverkusen temporarily reduced the pressure in the second half, Bayer keeper Lukas Hradecky remained virtually unoccupied.
Leading scorer Granit Xhaka could not resist an ironic comment: "We only gave our opponents a little hope for a moment so that they would think they could do a bit more now. But then nothing came of it."
BVB coach defends defensive approach
Edin Terzic 's strategy almost worked - everything went according to plan until Victor Boniface's late equalizer (79'). "Leverkusen are still undefeated, that's what bothers me the most today. But I had the feeling that we were the team that came closest," said the BVB coach. The 41-year-old defended his team's defensive approach: "We wanted to make sure that it's not the number of goals you score that decides whether you win, but that you don't concede so many. We wanted to make sure that one or two goals would be enough to take something home."
However, the soccer coach's hope for more relief through counter-attacks proved to be wishful thinking. "We didn't show the courage to hold onto the ball, maybe win a one-on-one duel. There are a lot of aspects that made it look frightening," admitted international Julian Brandt. "Leverkusen deserved the win more than we did."
In contrast to many observers, however, Terzic clearly still believes he can close the large gap to the remarkably stable leaders. "It's a big gap, that's true. But there is still so much to come, both for us and for Leverkusen. Leverkusen also have an exciting phase ahead of them with the Africa Cup," said Terzic with a view to the continental tournament from January 13 to February 11, for which his fellow coach Xabi Alonso will have to withdraw five professionals, including regulars such as Boniface, Odilon Kossounou and Edmond Tapsoba.
BVB already face their third major away hurdle in a week on Wednesday after the games in Milan (3:1) and Leverkusen. Should they also lose the cup tie at VfB Stuttgart (8.45pm), another season without a national title would be hard to avoid. The dismal performance in the Bundesliga match (1:2) at the same venue in mid-November does not bode well. Captain Emre Can vowed to do better: "We want to show a different face than we did last time in Stuttgart."
Read also:
Source: www.stern.de
