BORUSSIA DORTMUND boss Lucien Favre is under serious pressure after his side struggled in a 3-3 draw against bottom of the table Paderborn.
Dortmund have been well below the standard expected this season and Favre knows his job is on the line as his side sit sixth in the Bundesliga.
It doesn’t get any easier for the 62-year-old as they travel to Barcelona on Wednesday hoping to secure their place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Favre hasn’t been able to sort out the fragile defence at the Westfalenstadion despite the summer signing of Mats Hummels from Bayern Munich.
Munich recently humiliated Dortmund, beating them 4-0 at the Allianz Arena.
Julian Weigl, a defensive midfielder, partnered Hummels in central defence on Friday evening and their lack of pace was soon exploited as struggling Paderborn raced into a 3-0 lead before half-time.
The inability to get the best out of a squad with attacking talent such as Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho, Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt has frustrated the fan base.
Dortmund have struggled to solidify their defence in recent years and it has been proved yet again that they aren’t ready to maintain a title challenge.
Sporting director Michael Zorc is expecting a big improvement when they face Barcelona: “Obviously the topic will be discussed publicly because our situation is more than unsatisfactory,” he told Funke Sport.
“Of course we will analyse that very intensively.
“But we are going to the match in Barcelona with Lucien Favre and we expect to see a significant increase in performance there.
“We need a performance. We finally need a good performance on the pitch so you can look forward.”
Lukasz Piszczek seems past his best after struggles with injury over recent seasons. They had two central defenders on the bench for the Paderborn game but Favre stuck with Weigl and paid the price despite Dortmund rescuing a point late on.
The attacking department has lacked a cutting edge on more than one occasion this season and Favre’s side have only won two out of their last five league matches.
Jadon Sancho doesn’t appear to be at his best, although he did add another goal and assist to his tally Friday evening. Reus hasn’t been able to replicate his high level of performances from last season and forward Paco Alcacer has struggled with injuries, leaving Mario Gotze to play as a false nine on numerous occasions.
With the pressure increasing on Favre, it appears likely that anything but a good result at Barcelona could be the end for the Swiss manager.
Bayern Munich have won the Bundesliga seven years in a row and Dortmund held top spot for the majority of last season but since February, the Black and Yellows couldn’t maintain the pace and their lack of consistency has continued this season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
