5 reasons that explain Borussia Dortmund's struggle in the Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund who are always considered as one of the favorites for the Bundesliga are now fighting to come out of the relegation zone. Dortmund currently has 7 points out of 10 games played which includes 2 wins and a draw.They need a minimum of 58 points by the end of the season which means 51 points from the rest of their remaining 24 matches so as to ensure a Champions League qualification for the next season. Head coach Jurgen Klopp is presently finding it difficult to shape in a solid team after blaming the team’s injury during the start of the season as the team’s biggest problem.In this slideshow, we discuss 5 reasons on why Borussia Dortmund is struggling in the Bundesliga:

#1 No ideal replacement found

The fact cannot be written off that Robert Lewandowski was Borussia Dortmund’s most significant player but with his free move to Bayern Munich during the summer after his contract expired, Dortmund needed to find someone as his replacement.

Ciro Immobile, a classic box-to-box striker and Adrian Ramos were both bought in as a dual two-for-one replacement for Lewandowski for an accumulative transfer fee of 30 million euros. Although both of them had an enjoyable last season with their former clubs, Torino and Hertha Berlin respectively, this season has been somewhat of a problem for the both the two forwards.

Both Immobile and Ramos have scored 2 goals each in the Bundesliga till now, and are goalscoring record is not assuring enough. Although Dortmund claimed to have done their homework in scouting both the players for a long time, they’ve asked for more patience from the fan to give them some more time.

But, a definite question that rises now is whether both Immobile and Ramos can adjust to Dortmund’s style of play the way Lewandowski did?

#2 Defensive errors exploited

Dortmund’s below standard defending qualities has been a major concern for the club this season. Neven Subotic, after his return from an injury, is seen struggling to find his form.

The signing of the 20 years-old Centre-Back, Matthias Ginter, from Freiburg who was mainly signed to have gained some much needed experience, which would’ve helped him in leading the team’s defense, had his worst match in the Dortmund shirt against Bayer Leverkusen. This was a result of the overwhelming pressure for a young player.

The style of football, adopted by Dortmund often leaves them in leaving gaps in their defense. An extremely thorough and careful playing tempo with a high line, often ended up in being exploited on the counter attack by the opposition.

#3 Predictable style of play

A real existing difference between Borussia Dortmund’s rivals in the Champions League and Bundesliga is their style of play.

Teams playing in the Bundesliga are starting to understand Dortmund’s game, and thus are making the most out of Borussia Dortmund’s weakness. The teams seem to have taken a full advantage of the errors that usually occur due to the high-tempo playing style of Dortmund.

Dortmund play the kind of football that looks for teams to attack which usually is followed by a fast-counter attack. However, when teams choose to defend, or in other words, park the bus, they struggle.

Teams park the bus and they struggle to play against it. Injuries to key players, poor finishing and good goalkeeping also contribute.

They're doing well in the CL because teams will attack them, which allows them to counter.

But their journey in the Champions League has so far been totally different with wins over teams like Arsenal and Galasataray. The show that they had put up at their peak to defeat Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid 4-1 at the Signal Iduna Park back in 2013 showed Dortmund at their very best. On that night, they were relentless, fearless, playing with absolute passion.

But Klopp now, seemed to have run out of ideas. He has changed his formation in nearly every match. He swung between using a midfield diamond and his old 4-2-3-1 formation. Klopp has tried almost everything but is unable to find a stable starting XI.

#4 Injuries without Replacements

According to Jurgen Klopp, his side missing their stars players has resulted in such a woeful start in the season.

Dortmund, currently reeling on the relegation spot with just 7 points to their name were without Marco Reus, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Nuri Sahin for much of the season. A new inductee to their injury list now is their captain, Mats Hummels who will be out for 3 weeks with a foot injury and Sahin is yet to make an appearance in this season after going through a knee surgery.

Their best player on the pitch, Marco Reus, despite returning to the squad, has failed to find his rhythm so far due to his recent struggle with his knee injury. Shinji Kagawa still lacks fitness despite a full preseason at Manchester United. He was twice withdrawn from games with muscle cramps, and Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has also been sidelined because of his ankle.

Ji Dong-Won, the Sunderland attacker, termed as a typical Klopp signing hasn’t played a single game for the club due to a troublesome knee injury.

#5 Mistakes on the pitch have led to goal

From being the club who had de-throned Bayern Munich from the helms of Bundesliga and bagged the league title two years in succession, Dortmund have come quite the road down. After losing the league to Munich last season with a massive 17-point difference, Dortmund are now standing on the 17th spot with the least points scored in the league.

And a lot of that has to do with their numerous errors on the pitch that has cost them vital points. Immobile’s penalty miss and an own goal from Ginter against FSV Mainz 05 on the 20th of September saw Klopp’s side lose 2-0 away from home even after dominating the matches for 60-70 minutes.

Dortmund, after leading 1-0 against Bayern Munich with less than 20 minutes to go, ended up conceding two goals. The last time that Dortmund earned a point was on the 24th of September in a 2-2 draw against VfB Stuttgart. Ever since, the team has seen 5 defeats.