Talking Points from Borussia Dortmund 1-2 VfB Stuttgart

Borussia Dortmund fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of VfB Stuttgart on Friday, losing their third Bundesliga game in a row. Chadrac Akolo pounced on an error from Bartra and put his side 1-0 up in the fifth minute. Maximilian Philipp then equalised just before the break, but Josip Brekalo scored the winner in the 51st minute to crush Peter Bosz’s men aside.

Here are the major Talking Points from the defeat in the Bundesliga-

Freefalling Dortmund

Needless to say, Borussia Dortmund are a club in complete freefall at the moment. They’ve now been winless in the last five league games, having managed just one point in these games. And with their Champions League campaign having similarly crumbled, this season has been a total failure for the Black and Yellow so far. The once league leaders are now way off the top, having fallen to fifth in the league standings. With that, we come to the next point-

How Long Until We Sack Bosz?

It has been clear for some time that Borussia Dortmund and Peter Bosz aren’t a match made in heaven! The former Ajax boss, who replaced Thomas Tuchel in the summer, has taken his side to new lows instead of taking them to places. He’s overseen a nightmarish UCL campaign, where qualifying for the Europa League looks like the best way out. And in the league, their poor run has coincided with Bayern thriving under Jupp Heynckes. And in the form and circumstances, they’re in, it’s clear that they’ll be empty handed come the end of the season. So, what’s the point of keeping Bosz at the helm when it’s obvious that there’s no use of giving him the time to turn it around? Maybe we should do what our rivals have done and sack the boss midway through the season. After all, we’ve got nothing to lose this season.

False 9 System Fails

After Aubameyang’s suspension, it looked like Yarmolenko, who’s formerly played as a striker for Dynamo Kyiv, would be drafted in at No.9. It was between him and Alexander Isak, the young Swedish forward. However, Bosz surprised everyone and lined his side up with a False 9. His plan was ambitious, but backfired as Andre Schurrle, playing as the False 9, dropped deep too often to help his side win back possession. And with Stuttgart’s midfield overrun time and again and Gotze and Kagawa making ample of chances, it was clear that lining up with an out and out striker could’ve been the best for the visitors.

Aubameyang missed by his teammates

Aubameyang’s inclusion in the team has been no less than a conundrum for Bosz. Major sections of the faithful have time and again called for the Gabonese striker to be dropped after a spell of seven games without a goal. It was thought that his inclusion was hindering Bosz’s game plan. However, he missed this game, due to a mysterious suspension, but in his absence, Dortmund created many chances but the squad really missed a lethal finisher. Aubameyang could easily have scored two or three here tonight.

Bartra’s Howler

It looks like the Dortmund defenders are taking turns to make blunders each week. It was Marc Bartra’s turn this time around. His overhit back pass was too much for Burki to control, and Chadrac Akolo literally walked the ball into the net. And if that wasn’t enough, he decided to take on defenders by himself after the break and lost the ball in the midfield which led to Stuttgart’s winning goal. Much of the reason for Bosz and Dortmund collapse has been thanks to howlers from defenders in recent months.