Dortmund players slam Favre tactics after Stuttgart humiliation

Jordan Sancho looks in disbelief as Stuttgart were unstoppable

Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre admitted his side suffered a “disaster” in the Bundesliga title race on Saturday after being routed 5-1 by VfB Stuttgart to suffer their heaviest home defeat in over a decade.

Stuttgart’s Congo winger Silas Wamangituka netted twice in the romp which piled the pressure on Favre with fifth-placed Dortmund now five points behind leaders RB Leipzig.

Hummels disappointed with Favre tactics

“Things went mercilessly wrong,” admitted Dortmund defender Mats Hummels.

“We shot ourselves in the foot every few minutes.”

Dortmund have taken just a point in their two league games since star striker Erling Braut Haaland was ruled out until January with a hip injury.

Stuttgart’s relentless pressing and sloppy Dortmund defending resulted in the visitors scoring four unanswered second-half goals.

Reus didn’t hold back in his assessment of Favre tactics

“We are not a team that can defend well, that has to be said quite clearly,” fumed Dortmund captain Marco Reus, while Favre admitted it was “a disaster”.

Wamangituka converted a penalty midway through the first half after Dortmund’s Emre Can brought down Mateo Klimowicz.

Dortmund equalised just before the break when a superb Raphael Guerreiro long ball picked out Giovanni Reyna, who deftly chipped home.

It was 1-1 at the break, but the floodgates opened in the second period as nearly every Dortmund mistake was punished with a Stuttgart goal.

Guerreiro lost control of the ball on the edge of his penalty area and Wamangituka claimed his second goal eight minutes after the break.

Midfielder Philip Foerster, in for suspended Stuttgart captain Gonzalo Castro, scored with a perfectly timed run into the area with an hour played.

Jude Belligham’s stray pass was then snapped up by Wamangituka and moved to striker Tanguy Coulibaly, who fired home on 63 minutes.

The VAR ruled out a second Reyna goal late on before a mistake by Dortmund’s Nico Schulz saw Nicolas Gonzalez claim Stuttgart’s fifth goal.

The debacle is Dortmund’s heaviest home defeat since being humbled 5-1 at home to Bayern Munich in 2009.

(AFP/NAN)