Calamitous Defending Catches Up with Borussia Dortmund in Hamburg Defeat

It finally happened on a cold Friday evening in Hamburg on Matchday 13 of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season. Borussia Dortmund's shambolic defending finally caught up with the team that had won seven matches in a row before the bout with their bogey team.

The Black and Yellows conceded three goals against a Hamburg side that had scored a grand total of 11 goals in the 12 Bundesliga matches before Friday. They have now beaten HSV just once in the last seven meetings.

But it's far too easy to chalk this game up as a one-off performance against Dortmund's bogey team.

The signs for this were there, even if head coach Thomas Tuchel didn't think so. "I didn't see such a poor performance coming after the final training on Thursday. The body language, the attitude, the way we played were far away from our own ambitions. With a performance like this you won't win anything anywhere," he said after the game (via ESPN FC's Stefan Buczko).

We highlighted Dortmund's problems in defence numerous times in the last few weeks. They were lucky not to throw away a highly deserved win in the "Revierderby" against local rivals Schalke before the November international break and just as lucky not to go down by two goals in the opening stages of the UEFA Europa League match at FK Qabala four weeks ago.

A prolific attack led by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had overshadowed their defensive struggles in nearly every game—until Friday. Against Hamburg, however, they couldn't overcome their errors. Aubameyang did find the net four minutes from time, but his 15th goal of the Bundesliga season was nothing more than a consolation goal. 

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Great assist by Januzaj for Dortmund's consolation goal. #MUFC #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/0tEbh8Jnl4

— Michael Gatt (@MikielGatt) November 20, 2015"

Dortmund invited the hosts to all three goals—rather, to the first two. Captain Mats Hummels scored the third one that put the game to bed himself.

Bleacher Report's Rob Lancaster wrote in his live report: "A corner from the right by Holtby is met beautifully in the middle by Hummels, who heads the ball into the turf before watching it bounce up into the roof of his own net. Cracking finish, if it wasn't at the wrong end of the field."

It was a fitting way to put what ultimately proved to be the final nail in the coffin, as Hummels again was a far cry from his best self on the night. "It was almost a novelty that Borussia Dortmund had previously conceded two goals due to individual mistakes with Hummels not being involved," as Buczko put it.

Hummels' partner in central defence had his own struggles in the game. Sokratis Papastathopoulos thought it was a good idea to try and control a long ball with his chest, only to see the ball bounce straight into the path of Lewis Holtby. The former Spurs midfielder played an intelligent through ball towards Ivo Ilicevic, whose run into the penalty box was abruptly halted by Dortmund's 'keeper Roman Burki.

The Swiss international's decision to rush out of his goal late was most curious, especially considering a heavy touch led Ilicevic away from goal at the last second. Pierre-Michel Lasogga converted from the spot, giving Hamburg a 1-0 lead before either side had mustered even a single shot from open play.

With both centre-backs playing poorly once more, some, like Fox Soccer's Ross Dunbar, are wondering if Dortmund ought to make a change in the heart of defence.

It wasn't only the centre-backs, however. Matthias Ginter got into the act with a horrible pass across the field that was played miles behind the target, Julian Weigl. Nicolai Muller intercepted the ball and had an open run at Dortmund's defence. "Even with Hummels trying to alert Weigl to the presence of Lewis Holtby, Weigl was caught ball-watching instead of tracking the run," wrote Buczko.

CARMEN JASPERSEN/Getty Images

It was a truly embarrassing evening for the visitors, who have only managed to keep a clean sheet in three of their 17 games across all competitions since the end of August. In the Bundesliga alone, they've now conceded 18 goals, a whopping 14 more than Bayern Munich, who now have the chance to make it an eight-point advantage with a win in Saturday's meeting with Schalke.

Thanks to Dortmund's own eight-point advantage—over third-placed VfL Wolfsburg, that is—their defeat at the Volksparkstadion will in all likelihood prove to be rather inconsequential. They can't, however, just shrug off the manner in which they conceded three goals to one of the more harmless opponents in the league.

Lars is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.