Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Borussia Dortmund: 3 Reasons why the Black and Yellows failed to win

Borussia Dortmund travelled to the Commerzbank Arena to face Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday with an aim to stay close to league leaders, RB Leipzig. Lucien Favre knew that to stay on course with the leaders, he needed an away win against a side that had not lost at home this season. However, history suggested that the Black and Yellows held the upper hand in the tie.

The Eagles are Borussia Dortmund’s favourite opponents; the Black and Yellows have won 44 games against Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. Incidentally, this is also the most number of games they have won against any opponent in the Bundesliga. As such, Favre had every reason to be optimistic ahead of the game and he named a strong team for the tie.

Borussia Dortmund Starting XI - Roman Bürki; Achraf Hakimi, Mats Hummels, Manuel Akanji, Raphaël Guerreiro; Thomas Delaney, Axel Witsel, Marco Reus; Jadon Sancho, Paco Alcácer, Thorgan Hazard.

The visitors took the lead early in the game, when Witsel scored in the 11th minute. However, the home side scored the equaliser just before the break.

In the second half, Lucien Favre’s boys took the lead again, this time through Sancho, but a disastrous own goal by Delaney allowed the Eagles back into the game in the dying minutes. The game ended in a 2-2 draw and here are 3 reasons why Dortmund failed to win.

#3 Failing to hold on to the lead, twice

Sancho gave Dortmund the lead in the second half

The Black and Yellows started the game extremely well and looked in complete control. They took the lead through Witsel in the 11th minute and it appeared that the home team could be in for a rough day.

However, as Dortmund dominated proceedings, they underestimated their opponents and appeared too confident at times. And they were punished against the run of play at the end of the first half when Andre Silva scored the equaliser in the 43rd minute.

In the second half, Sancho put his team ahead in the 66th minute, but once again, the visitors failed to hold on to their lead, as Delaney put one through his own net, thereby enabling the hosts to restore parity.

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#2 Sitting deep at the end of the second half

Dortmund paid the price for sitting deep in the dying minutes of the game

After scoring their second goal of the game, Dortmund adopted a cautious approach and allowed the home team to run at them. Frankfurt continued to threaten Roman Burki in Dortmund's goal and grew in confidence with each passing minute.

Pretty soon, the home side was throwing the kitchen sink at the Black and Yellows. However, Lucien Favre’s side preferred to soak the pressure. The visitors attempted to sit deep in the last quarter of the second half and that proved to be fatal.

Timothy Chandler harrowed the Dortmund back-line with his persistent crossing and Frankfurt finally hit gold from one such run of play. Martin Hinteregger got on the end of Chandler’s cross in the 88th minute and dragged his shot across the face of the goal.

It reached Kamada, whose subsequent return ball was turned into his own net by Delaney. Borussia’s decision to sit deep and invite pressure from the home side ultimately cost them the game.

#1 Lack of precision in front of goal

Frankfurt took advantage of Dortmund's lack of precision in front of goal

Dortmund were in total control for the majority of the game. They were the better team on the day and also created the most chances.

However, the main problem was that the visitors failed to convert their chances and it came back to haunt them at the end of the game. Dortmund ended the game with 16 shots, 7 of which were on target, but managed to score just 2 goals.

They dictated proceedings against a Frankfurt side who were second best for the majority of the game. Dortmund had 63% possession, and attempted 608 passes with 84% accuracy, compared to Frankfurt’s 357 passes with 71% pass accuracy.

The Black and Yellows did everything right, apart from their finishing, which was a bit off the mark on the day. Because they failed to convert their chances, they stayed within touching distance of their opponents throughout the game. Despite Dortmund’s heroics on the day, their lack of precision in front of goal ultimately cost them the game.