Freiburg 2-2 Borussia Dortmund: 5 Talking Points

Borussia Dortmund have slipped up in the Bundesliga title race, not for the first time, and with performances like this, it won't be the last time. Fortunately for them, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig also slipped up elsewhere. These results cumulatively mean that four teams at the top of the Bundesliga table are now on 14 points and Dortmund, who could've been at 14 points are now on 12 points, playing catch-up.

It was by no means an easy tie for Dortmund, but one that Lucien Favre would've expected to win, especially given that Dortmund would want to respond to recent results. But they've repeated what's becoming an increasingly common result for them as they've finished 3 of their last 4 games with a 2-2 scoreline.

It's not just the scoreline, there's been a pattern of going ahead, failing to capitalise and conceding as they start to lose control of the tie. It's a worrying trend for this Dortmund side, but fortunately for them, it's a patch that they're navigating early in the league so they have time to recover.

#1 Chinks in the Dortmund Armour

Akanji had a mixed performance against Freiburg, much like the rest of his defensive unit

This Dortmund side conceded a fair number of goals last season as well, and the trend has continued for them this season. Although, last season Dortmund always seemed to find a way to win despite conceding the odd goal, which has worryingly not continued for them so far.

The defence looked consistently exposed against Freiburg as Luca Waldschmidt constantly pulled the two centre-backs out of position and Gunter posed a significant threat down the left flank. Neither Delaney, nor Witsel managed to successfully shield the backline as they usually do, and Freiburg exploited that with some great inter-passing in the final third.

#2 Hazard finding his place

Hazard is finding his feet at Borussia Dortmund

One of the bright sparks for Borussia Dortmund, going forward and tracking back was Thorgan Hazard. His consciousness to come back and help out in defence is immensely valuable to this team especially when the likes of Guerreiro or Hakimi bomb forward at will.

His attacking play has also looked more dynamic since arriving at Dortmund. While at Monchengladbach, he was a frequent name on the scoresheet but wasn't particularly known for his all-round play, a facet that he seems to have added to his Arsenal under Favre.

His deliveries look threatening on set-pieces as well and he got a couple of good shots away from outside the box as well that looked threatening. The Belgian is starting to carve a niche for himself under Favre and if Dortmund can sort things out at the back, they may be able to make the best of a great attacking force in Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho, and Hazard.

#3 Hakimi's Purple Patch

Hakimi has continued his rich vein of form

The full-back on loan from Real Madrid has made a real impact in Germany. Not for the first time that Favre has taken a full-back and used him primarily as an attacking force down the wing. Where Raphael Guerreiro thrived last season, arguably, Hakimi is taking it a step further this time.

Having scored a brace in midweek, Achraf Hakimi was constantly involved in Dortmund's attacking play against Freiburg. His ability to go up and down the wing at pace and provide quality deliveries into the box is one of Dortmund's primary attacking threats at the moment and he's thoroughly enjoying the role.

Although his position on the wing was shortlived in this game due to Lukasz Piszczek's early exit owing to an injury. He switched over to the right-wing and provided more or less the same threat he would as a winger, from the position of a full-back.

#4 Fatigued Dortmund; Freiburg relentless

Dortmund looked visibly slow and leggy against Freiburg

There were plenty of cases last season when Dortmund merely held their opponents for large chunks of the game to really turn it up past the 70-minute mark and roll them over. This usually also featured a cameo from Paco Alcacer who built a great goals-to-minutes ratio on the back of these performances off the bench.

Against Freiburg, not for the first time this season, Dortmund appeared to be unable to switch into a higher gear and put the game past their opponents despite leading twice. They have lacked ruthlessness in the past as well, but they rarely ceded control, but they're letting their opponents back into the game far too often now.

Their tendency to boot the ball out of the back in the final minutes is what handed Freiburg the impetus to keep going at them with some dangerous balls into the box, and they only needed to succeed on one occasion to make them pay.

#5 Should Sancho have started?

Jadon Sancho didn't start the game for Dortmund

Of course, if Borussia Dortmund had won the game and Sancho hadn't come on or even played a cameo role at the end, no questions may have been asked. Yet, Lucien Favre has opted to shield his creator-in-chief this season in a difficult game, so the question must be raised.

Thorgan Hazard had a productive game playing on the wings, although maybe the same cannot be said of Brandt who was substituted on early in the game when Favre could possibly have brought Sancho on instead. Julian Brandt has had his teething issues at Dortmund and looked out of ideas against Freiburg. Given the importance of the fixture, perhaps the English winger should've started, especially considering that the international break is just around the corner.

Perhaps the result may have been the same with Sancho on the pitch, but he has shown repeatedly that he's able to impact the scoreline for this Dortmund team consistently. His value to this Dortmund team can perhaps be measured in points, and Favre could've lost two in this game over that decision.