German giants Borussia Dortmund have been hit with a much-needed wake-up call ahead of their crucial Champions League clash against Inter Milan.
Lucien Favre’s men have started positively in Europe, having held Barcelona to a draw at home and picking up three points against Slavia Prague away from home. But their tendency to concede a late goal and inability to hold a lead could spell doom in the fixture that could play a huge role in determining the final standings.
The three Bundesliga games prior to Dortmund's 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, all ended in a 2-2 draw. In each of those, Favre’s men did not preserve a lead deep into the second half. This resulted in Dortmund slipping to the eighth position, having dropped six points in three consecutive match-days before rising to fourth currently.
Against Eintracht Frankfurt, Thomas Delaney scored an own-goal in the 88th minute to undo Jadon Sancho’s second-half strike and ensure the spoils were shared. Axel Witsel had scored the opener, but Andre Silva had restored parity before the break.
In their next game, Milot Rashica and Marco Friedl scored on either side of Dortmund’s goals that came from the boots of Mario Gotze and Marco Reus. It was yet another case of Favre’s men giving up a 2-1 lead in the second half.
The palms hovered over the panic button in their next game when they failed to hold on to a 2-1 lead against Freiburg and played out their third consecutive 2-2 draw. Luca Waldschmidt equalised after Axel Witsel opened the scoring in the first half. Achraf Hakimi thought he scored the winner, but Manuel Akanji scored an own goal in the 89th minute to cancel their advantage.
Despite the stutter, Dortmund are just a point behind table-toppers Borussia Monchengladbach after the win on Saturday.
However, they must know that the margin for error is smaller in the Champions League. Throwing a lead away in Europe could have more serious repercussions and Dortmund must look to avoid it at all costs.
A win over Inter at San Siro will put Dortmund in a strong position ahead of the second half of the Group stage games. But a draw or defeat could open up the group.
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