The hope for a redeeming victory proves to be wishful thinking. After the 1-1 draw against Mainz, BVB is facing a restless winter break. The criticism of coach Terzic is likely to grow louder.
A piercing chorus of boos from the stands, baffled players on the pitch and a stern-looking coach on the sidelines, who is now facing even more criticism. After the painful title trauma last May, Borussia Dortmund once again showed nerves in the duel with FSV Mainz and suffered a serious setback.
206 days after the memorable season finale (2-2) at the same venue, with which the team of football coach Terzic still squandered the championship, the hoped-for sense of achievement failed to materialize again in the 1-1 (1-1) draw.
“For me, it’s basically about the situation, which is not easy,” said BVB national player Julian Brandt on the TV channel Sat.1. ”It’s awful, to be honest. It’s always crappy to go into the break with a draw or a loss.”
The sixth competitive game without a win in a row is likely to intensify the criticism of the BVB coach. Media reports of an alleged “player revolt” against Terzic had already caused additional controversy before the game. The Bundesliga’s fifth-placed team is increasingly at risk of failing to qualify for the Champions League again.
“We just made too many mistakes,” said national player Emre Can: It was just the crucial moments that were not on the side of BVB. ‘It’s not always the coach’s fault. It has nothing to do with the coach when the ball hits the bar,’ Can also emphasized when asked by pay-TV broadcaster Sky.
The goal against by the guests through Sepp Van den Berg (43rd minute) on Tuesday in front of 80,350 spectators at Signal Iduna Park after BVB’s interim lead through Brandt (29th minute) will severely disrupt the longed-for Christmas break.
On the other hand, the Mainz team finally had something to celebrate about again. The end of their 363-minute scoring drought and the honorable draw earned them 15th place in the table, at least for one day. However, it remains to be seen whether this will increase the chances of interim coach Jan Siewert being promoted to head coach and permanent successor to Bo Svensson.
Sabitzer also hits the bar
After the criticism of the past few days, BVB was visibly keen to make amends and took the lead from the start. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens provided the first highlight when he shot the ball powerfully against the crossbar in the eighth minute. Shortly afterwards, the BVB attacker narrowly missed the opposing goal with a long-range shot (16th minute).
A remarkable free kick from Brandt took some of the pressure off Borussia. From 18 meters, the national player skillfully curled the ball into the upper left corner, putting his team in the lead. Just two minutes later, BVB was even close to a 2-0 lead. However, just like Bynoe-Gittens before him, Marcel Sabitzer only hit the crossbar.
Whistles from the stands for the Borussians
Until then, there had been little to see of the Mainz team in offense. 14:3 shots on target in favor of BVB accurately reflected the course of the game. But when Terzic’s team slowed down, the guests struck back with a goal out of nowhere. Van den Berg headed a cross from Philipp Mwene into the net from close range.
The bewildered expressions on the faces of the BVB players at the half-time whistle said more than a thousand words. After the restart, Borussia looked unsettled. All of a sudden, Mainz were the dominant team and even pushed for the lead.
The first whistles from the stands prompted the BVB professionals to pick up the pace. However, they did not create as many chances as they had in the first 45 minutes. A fightback against the draw was only recognizable very late on, and a goal in injury time by Giovanni Reyna was disallowed because of an offside position.