Borussia Dortmund have had a stop-start early season thus far to say the least as they look to defend the Bundesliga title they won in spectacular fashion last term. A dip in form coupled with the improvements, defensively more than any, made by Jupp Heynckes at Bayern Munich have seen them fall 8 points off the pace after just 7 matches, leaving the holders a tough task to catch up.
3 wins thus far have been cancelled out by as many defeats - drawing to Bayer Leverkusen in the other - and the team's misery in the league thus far was added to after a 3-0 defeat at Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday. In Jurgen Klopp's side's 9 games thus far, domestically and in Europe, Dortmund have failed to win two-thirds, with luck very much against them up-to-now.
WhoScored investigates how the reigning German champions' dominance in some games has led to disappointment in terms of results, as well as the absences that have caused the change in fortunes at Signal Iduna Park.
Possession Counts for Nothing
In the 6 games that Dortmund have failed to win this season they have controlled the possession in every one, with their lowest dominance of the ball coming in the 0-0 draw at Leverkusen (54%) in week 4.
Their first defeat of the season came on the second weekend of the Bundesliga, going down 1-0 to Hoffenheim. A fairly even match in terms of chances, with Dortmund having one more shot at goal (16) with 2 more on target (5), the visitors bossed the game with an amazing 65% of possession.
The side had star-man Mario Gotze sent off in the stalemate at Leverkusen, and we'll look more into his involvement later, meaning they hosted Hertha without the teenager. Dortmund lost the game 2-1 despite attempting 25 shots at goal to the away sides 12, though their shooting was wayward in comparison with both sides hitting the target 6 times. In terms of possession the hosts again dominated, but failed to make their 62% possession pay.
A massive game in the sides first match back in the Champions League soon followed, with Dortmund hosting a faltering Arsenal side. The German champions again controlled the game with 57% of possession but could only pick up a point thanks to a last-ditch wonder goal from Ivan Perisic. They had attempted 23 shots in the game but were wasteful once more, with only 6 on target, though they limited Arsenal to just 2 shots on target- 1 of which was scored.
A trip to Hannover saw Klopp's side suffer their second successive 2-1 defeat in the league, again without Gotze, though they could have fewer complaints. Despite having 59% of the ball, Dortmund managed fewer shots than the hosts (14-13) - the only time they have done so in any of their failings to win thus far.
In their most recent match, Dortmund were more than a little unfortunate to be on the end of a 3-0 drubbing from a clinical Marseille side. Travelling to France, the visitors had 13 more shots at goal (8-21), though a similar pattern emerged in terms of their tendency to shoot high or wide. Both sides hit 5 attempts on target, and while Marseille netted with 3, Dortmund couldn't register, despite holding 58% of the possession.
Goalkeeper Defiance Alliance
The defeat at the hands of Marseille was down in no small part to the host’s goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, who isn't the first stopper to put in a defiant performance against the Borussians. A man of the match display for the Frenchman saw Mandanda make 5 saves and 6 good claims to earn a WhoScored rating of 9.3.
Hoffenheim's Starke also picked up the man of the match award against Dortmund with a rating of 7.6 and similar ratings for keepers against the side have been key to Dortmund's poor results. In the games with Leverkusen, Hertha, Arsenal and Hannover, opposing goalkeepers Leno (7.7), Kraft (7.2), Szczesny (7.5) and Zieler (7.4) have all picked up excellent ratings respectively.
When calculating the average ratings of the goalkeepers who have ensured that Dortmund haven't won in 6 games this season, you can see why a figure of 7.8 has denied the side on numerous occasions. In terms of the best average rating for a keeper in the Bundesliga, young Gladbach stopper Marc-Andre ter Stegen leads the way with 7.4 in comparison, while Dortmund's Roman Weidenfeller has a WhoScored rating of 6.8. To put their performances into greater perspective, Bayern's new signing Manuel Neuer has conceded just 1 league goal all season and has a rating of 6.9.
Players Missing
In the two games in which creative midfielder Mario Gotze was suspended, the Black Yellows lost both 2-1; winning 3 of their 5 league games with him in the side. The hot prospect is already Dortmund's top rated player (7.35) and is crucial to any success they may have, with bigger clubs looming.
The lure of the footballing giants has already been to the detriment of the side after they lost last season's key man Nuri Sahin to Real Madrid. 6 goals, 8 assists and an exemplary defensive contribution led the Turkish international to an exceptional rating of 7.73 in the league last season, with Gotze back in second for the title winners with 7.27.
Another key player last term was top scorer Lucas Barrios who's 16 goals fired Dortmund to the Championship. The Paraguayan is yet to start this season through injury and his impending recovery, having come off the bench in the league last time out, is much needed by the side. Some of their aforementioned wayward finishing has been a key facet to their failings this season, with Barrios' replacement Robert Lewandowski netting just twice in his 7 starts so far.
Seasonal Averages Suggest Unfair Standing
The sides 10 points from a possible 21 and 8th placed standing may suggest that they have adapted their game for the worse this season, though the stats show this is not the case.
In terms of possession, only league leaders Bayern have averaged more than Dortmund's 60%, which is a 7% increase on last season. The team's pass accuracy has also markedly improved from 75% last term to 82% this, again placing them second in the league in this regard behind Bayern.
The theme of coming out second best is one that Dortmund will want to abolish, though they also rank second in the league for tackles per game (26), shots per game (17) and, more surprisingly, shots on target per game (6). Dortmund could be seen as a soft touch, but are effective in the tackle as their per game tally shows, conceding the lowest number of fouls per game with 11.
In addition, despite Gotze's dismissal early on in the season, the German is one of just 3 players to be booked this term. The red card already equals their tally of 1 from last season, and just 38 yellows ensured the champions of the best discipline in the league last term.
The only statistic in which the team have significantly dropped from last season is in terms of interceptions per game, with their tally of 14 the worst in the division having averaged the third most last season with 19. The holders should be back to winning ways this weekend, with Gotze and Barrios both fit, as they host lowly Augsburg before a mouth-watering trip to second placed Werder Bremen should prove whether they can retain their Champions League status ahead of next season.
