The international break is over and so is Dortmund’s winning streak.
In spite of their pledges to pick up where they left-off, in Hamburg the black and yellow delivered one of the most sobering displays of the Bundesliga season. Is this a one-off, or a serious dampener for Thomas Tuchel’s side?
There was something in the air from the outset. For years, BVB have experienced gritty encounters away in Hamburg and often times trudged off the pitch second best. 20 minutes – and one penalty converted by Michelle Lasogga – into the encounter and it looked like Dortmund was bound to keep that tradition alive. What unfolded was a clash of two extremely bipolar football philosophies, in which Bruno Labaddia’s side simply appeared more poised to completely wear out the opponent. Dortmund’s half-hearted attempts to bounce back were frequently undermined by inexplicable defensive gaffes that ensured the hosts would score a second. Skipper Mats Hummels eventually decided to top-off his own dismal performance with a header past his own goalkeeper to make it 3-0. It was an unquestionably acute commentary on the black-and-yellow’s efforts that night.
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Instead of fielding a considerably defensive side, Bruno Labbadia had the confidence to stick to the same 4-2-3-1 system exercised against Darmstadt two weeks ago. The gutsy decision to square-off against BVB at eye level would pay dividends.
HSV Starting XI: Adler, Spahic, Djourou, Ostrzolek, Sakai – Jung, Kacar – Ilicevic, Holtby, Mueller – Lasogga
Dortmund coach Tuchel too relied on the tried and trusted. The same side that triumphantly dispatched Schalke two weeks ago was called up, the fact that the likes of Shinji Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had returned from their international travails less than 24 hours ago notwithstanding.
BVB Starting XI: Buerki, Schmelzer, Hummels, Sokratis, Ginter – Weigl, Guendogan – Mkhitaryan, Reus, Kagawa – Aubameyang
When two wing-back philosophies collide
It is a secret not well kept that Tuchel tends to transform his wingbacks into makeshift midfielders, which provide additional support to a fluid passing game between the holding and wide-midfielders. Anything but higher figures in the second and final third of the opponents pitch for BVB’s wingbacks, hence would have been a stark surprise. Yet the actual numbers are even more staggering than most would have anticipated. The first graph below illustrates Hamburgs two wing-backs (Matthias Ostrzolek and Gotoku Sakai) in action, recording a solid 51% of their time spent in and around their own box. Add the centre of the pitch to the figures and the two defensive wings action radius has been almost exclusively (85%) limited to defending and occasional bursts to the middle of the field.
Now, lo and behold, Dortmund’s equivalents to Ostrzolek and Sakai – Marcel Schmelzer and Matthias Ginter. The duo’s movements in their own third account for as little as 18%, when a sizeable 40% has been tracked in the second, another remarkable 40% in the attacking-third.
The numbers are almost alarmingly disparate. Analysis shows that they alone give a pretty solid hint as to why Dortmund repeatedly ran into trouble – Ginter and Schmelzer tirelessly darted forwards, but were met and disarmed by Ostrzolek and Sakai just before they could whip in their crosses. As a result, Dortmund offered a lot of open space on the sidelines which quick and witty players like Lewis Holtby and Nicolai Mueller consequently exploited in sudden counter-attacks. With the defensive line decimated, they again and again threw the midfielders Sokratis and, especially Hummels off-guard . It looked as though Tuchel had acknowledged the issue at halftime when he (rather atypically) swapped Ginter for Lukasz Piszczek, however, that did not fully eradicate the problem.
When teams’ attitudes collide
Sticking with direct player comparisons for a moment to dissect the work and passing of two central-offensive players for each respective side, namely Holtby and Mueller for HSV, constrasted against Marco Reus and Shinji Kagawa for BVB. Their individual responsibilities within the system aside, they have been playing in fairly congruent positions on the pitch. Therefore, one would expect comparable footprints and passing patterns in a side-by-side comparison.
Granted, the arrows show up in similar areas of the pitch, but Reus and Kagawa’s moves and passes hands down pale in comparison to Mueller and Holtby’s action scope. Some of that might come down to Hamburg’s players closing down room faster and generally not shying away from a shirt tug or nudge if necessary, but all the same that would only be half of the story told. One has to give credit to Mueller and Holtby – and at the same time contest Reus and Kagawa – for creating more chances (2-0), firing off more shots (2-0) and overall dispensing the ball better and more frequently than Dortmund’s duo. It is particularly discouraging to see since Dortmund had more overall possession of the ball, which further elevates the two Hamburg lads’ performance. The pair epitomised HSV’s commendable display of will and poise, BVB’s hollow reaction, on the other hand, appeared strangely out of character.
When Hummels and his own expectations collide
“Don’t kick a man when he’s down” is generally a good mantra to go by, but the fall of skipper Hummels, who seems to be caught in a downward spiral ever since the season began, is arguably as disconcerting as it is harmful for the entire team. Singling out players in a resounding defeat like this one is precarious by all means, and yet it is the obvious elephant in the room once again. The skipper’s clumsy attempt to clear the ball (which wound up behind fellow goalkeeper Roman Buerki) was tellingly enough not even the actual lowlight of his working day.
Rather his contribution to the second goal scored by Hamburg is most deserving of scrutiny, in which he displayed an off the scale level of passiveness and lethargy. He waived multiple chances to easily dispossess (a left on his own) Mueller on his counter-attack run, deciding against an easy tackle that he could not have escaped. The Dortmund captain then ushered Mueller to the edge of the box and patiently waited for Holtby to get into position for the inevitable deadly pass.
Not only has the Germany international lost his level-headedness, with 0 tackles to his name, 0 blocks and (you guessed it) 0 clearances, he has also become a completely standoffish player. One can certainly make the case that without Hummels it could at least have been shared spoils in Hamburg. Tuchel needs to and certainly will mull over this on the journey home.
In Neven Subotic, Borussia have another accomplished defender at their disposal. It could be about time to give Hummels a rest.
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