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Can Borussia Dortmund Still Reach A European Place?
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Can Borussia Dortmund Still Reach A European Place?

11/04/25 11:45

Can Borussia Dortmund Still Reach A European Place?

It has been no secret that Borussia Dortmund have been off the pace in the last two Bundesliga seasons. Last year, they only managed to qualify for the Champions League because the Bundesliga had been given an extra qualification place. They had a significant gap behind them, but Bayer Leverkusen were 27 points above them, and won the league comfortably.

For years now, Dortmund have always been second best to Bayern Munich, so to see another team surpass both of them in just one year must’ve been frustrating. However the problems weren’t limited to last season, as this campaign has been even worse.

The Problems At Dortmund

There are numerous reasons behind Dortmund’s issues this season, but they weren’t too far off the top four at the turn of the year. Three embarrassing league defeats in a row saw them slide down the table after the winter break as the chasing pack managed to make up ground. The nature of these defeats weren’t pleasant for Dortmund fans as they conceded three first half goals to both Leverkusen and Holstein Kiel.

But even earlier in the season, things weren’t going particularly well. There was a general thought that Nuri Sahin becoming head coach in the summer would keep them on the same trajectory that they were left with following Edin Terzic’s departure, however their former midfielder could not keep performances consistent. After 18 matches, they had just 25 points, their lowest return at that point in a season for 10 years. On a points per game basis, the last manager to do a worse job than Sahin was Thomas Doll back in the 2007/08 season, where Dortmund finished 13th.

Their inconsistencies have been apparent, as they have had some excellent results, such as a dominant 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt and their 7-1 obliteration of Celtic, but mostly they have been poor. This is especially evident away from home, as only the bottom six teams have a worse away record than they do. Meanwhile, at home, they are the fourth best in the league, having lost just three league games at Signal Iduna Park.

Standout Players

Despite their poor season, Dortmund have still had quite a few standout players this season. The most obvious one is Serhou Guirassy, who joined the club for £15m in the summer from fellow Bundesliga side Stuttgart. He has scored 15 league goals in this campaign as well as a further 10 in the Champions League. Dortmund are more than likely out of that competition now, but a 25 goal season at this stage is an excellent return. In February he managed to score four in one Bundesliga game, bagging his first hattrick for Dortmund and setting them up for a comfortable win.

Another summer signing that has been impressive has been Maximilian Beier. He joined from Hoffenheim for £26m in the summer and while he hasn’t had the same goal scoring impact as Guirassy, at just 22 years old, he has contributed to 13 goals in the league. Additionally, Jamie Gittens has broken into the limelight this season both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. The young English winger is the club’s second highest goalscorer in the league with eight.

Biggest Underperforming Players

There have been some Dortmund players this season that haven’t lived up to their expected performances. These players have been solid and consistent players for some time, but this season they have just dipped in form, and that may have contributed to Dortmund’s struggles. The first is Julian Brandt, who has just nine goal involvements this season. Last season he had double the goal involvements, including 11 assists, and that still wasn’t enough to see his club break into the top four. The pressure has moved away from him a bit this year with Gittens doing so well, but if they were both performing at their peak, then Dortmund might not be in this mess.

The second player who has underperformed expectations this season has been Marcel Sabitzer. The midfielder has missed the last two games through injury, but for the most part has been in the starting XI for the whole season. Despite this he hasn’t managed a single goal or assists in any competition. He might be a more defensively minded player, however last year he managed six goals and nine assists across all competitions, so his non-existent output has certainly hindered Dortmund in this campaign.

Can They Turn It Around?

Recent results have been going in Dortmund’s favour and the last two matches especially have been excellent for the club, if we ignore the 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League. Last weekend they beat Freiburg 4-1 away from home, with both Guirassy and Gittens getting on the scoresheet. Freiburg are now just one point above them, having not won any games in their last five. Prior to that they beat Mainz at home, a team that are battling for the top four at the moment.

There are just six games left of the season in the Bundesliga and Dortmund still have a few difficult fixtures. This weekend they face Bayern Munich away from home and they still have to play Leverkusen away as well. Their biggest game is against Monchengladbach, as they are three points above them in the table and also trying to finish in a European spot. Realistically I think the Champions League dream for next season is over, however there is a real possibility that they finish in a Europa League or Conference League spot and if they do, the competition is theirs to lose.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Jake Martin

Website Editor

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