The game was crowned by a misfire by goalkeeper Kobel deep in stoppage time when, under pressure outside his penalty area, he didn’t look at the field at all, but just stared at the ball and played it blindly and far too shallow to the right. Atalanta counter-attacked with two men and Bensebaini unfortunately hit Nikola Krstović in the penalty area. The result: penalty and BVB’s exit.
One difference from Dortmund’s good first half of the season, when they kept clean sheets quite often, is the now high error rate in the back line. The once strong final defense with Schlotterbeck and Anton is no longer visible. Can is anything but a stabilizer. And Bensebaini becomes a liability, especially in wild games in which BVB can control the action.
Kovač reacted well in the second half with logical offensive changes because he had to react given the score, but his starting lineup was anything but optimal. Schlotterbeck’s bench position in particular cannot be excused, as you need a good passer more than ever against Atalanta. In addition, Bensebaini could have been put on the bench. At the same time, Kovač did not react in the first half, when BVB was able to create very little access to Atalanta’s quick (switching) attacks. Coaches rarely react in the first 45 minutes, but it would have been necessary here.
So after a few promising months, at least in terms of results, Dortmund is once again facing a mixed season. They are out of the DFB Cup, eliminated too early in the Champions League and in the end second place is probably only possible in the Bundesliga.
