October is a month that all Dortmund fans will be keen to forget, although they may not be too keen on entering November either. Following a 3-1 mauling by Bayern Munich in the first Klassiker of the season, Borussia Dortmund have fallen to third in the table after a second successive league defeat.
Jump back to the 30th of September and the Dortmund based club were flying high at the top of the Bundesliga having scored an impressive 21 goals in just seven games, conceding just 2 goals in the process. Minus two tough Champions League fixtures against Tottenham and Real Madrid and BVB looked like real title contenders; Peter Bosz’s early tenure as head coach was off to a roaring success. However, the early league leaders have now drifted to 8-1 in Bundesliga betting for the title.
Adversely, whilst Bosz appeared to be thriving in his new role, Munich boss Ancelotti was becoming a man under pressure. Following an early season 2-0 defeat away to Hoffenheim, rumours materialised surrounding the Italian’s training methods. Shortly after this, the German champions threw away a two-goal lead at home to Wolfsburg, ending the game 2-2 followed by a humiliating 3-0 away beating by Paris Saint Germain. This was enough to seal Ancelotti’s fate, with the club’s brass swiftly removing the Italian and replacing him with Jupp Heynckes.
Following his retirement from football in 2013 after a successful Bundesliga campaign with Bayern, which included a League, Champions League, and DFB-Pokal cup treble, Heynckes returned to stabilise the sinking Munich ship.
Source: Bundesliga Official – Via Facebook
Two 1-1 draws against Champions League minnows APOEL Nicosia, following successive 3-1 defeats against Real and Spurs have left Dortmund’s chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds mathematically possible but realistically improbable. Bayern, on the other hand, have bounced back to beat Celtic in back to back games and have already qualified.
Europe’s elite competition has highlighted a number of flaws in both German clubs; Bayern have managed to consolidate in the absence of Ancelotti whist Bosz’s honeymoon period at Dortmund appears to well and truly have come to an end.
