Bundesliga: Dortmund embarrassed by new boys Stuttgart

Borussia Dortmund 1-5 Stuttgart, Signal-Iduna Park
(Reyna 39' — Wamangituka 27', 53', Förster 60', Coulibaly 63', Gonzalez 90+1')

With the Signal-Iduna Park once again empty, Borussia Dortmund's supporters watching on television on Saturday could have been forgiven for thinking they were watching replays, as the goals flew in.

"2-1, we gave the ball away. 3-1, we gave the ball away. 4-1, we gave the ball away," said a furious Mats Hummels. "We kept giving the ball away."

The veteran Dortmund defender was referring specifically to eleven calamitous minutes early in the second half when Stuttgart capitalized on amateurish mistakes to open up a three-goal lead.

By the time Nicolas Gonzalez raced away to score in injury time, the damage had long since been done. Borussia Dortmund had lost three consecutive home games in the Bundesliga for the first time since Jürgen Klopp's final season and had fallen five points behind league leaders RB Leipzig.

Major problems

The usual suspects lined up to answer the usual questions about mentality, attitude, frailty.

"We're a team that can't defend," said captain Marco Reus, before describing the performance as "shameful." Head coach Lucien Favre called it "a catastrophe." One thing it wasn’t was undeserved.

A four-goal deficit at the end of the game is bad enough, but Dortmund could quite feasibly have been four goals down at halftime. They were fortunate that Stuttgart's dominance, embodied by the equally combative and creative Wataru Endo in midfield, produced only one goal — a Silas Wamangituka penalty after a poorly timed tackle from the disappointing Emre Can.

Gio Reyna's delicate chip before the break was of the highest quality. The same could not be said of Dortmund's second half defending.

Raphael Guerreiro and then Jude Bellingham were caught in possession on the edge of their own box, leading to Wamangituka's second, before Stuttgart twice walked through a static Dortmund defense – Philipp Förster making it three and Mateo Klimowicz hitting the post. When Bellingham gave the ball away again, Wamangituka fed Tanguy Coulibaly to make it four.

Risk, reward and responsibility

"We have to start playing sensible football," said Hummels. "And sensible means: taking risks only when it's appropriate. We take too many risks when the potential rewards are too small. And we were mercilessly punished today."

A 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich can be accepted, especially when Dortmund largely held their own. Even losing at home to Cologne for the first time since 1991 can perhaps be dismissed as a freak result, but a 5-1 thrashing at home to a newly-promoted side is cause for serious concern.

"There's also the question of mental freshness," added Hummels in mitigation – and it's a valid point in this unprecedented season with a more tightly-packed schedule than ever.

But Bayern Munich haven't struggled like Dortmund have. RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach have continued to perform domestically while progressing from tougher groups than Dortmund's in Europe. Having qualified a week earlier, BVB even had the luxury of fielding a weakened team in St. Petersburg this week.

And it's not like Dortmund's shortcomings have only emerged this season. The same frailties and inconsistencies were at least partly to blame for unsuccessful title challenges in recent years.

Like Stuttgart's second-half goals on Saturday, watching Dortmund at the moment is like watching endless replays.