After a summer of lavish spending, Borussia Dortmund fans expected a title challenge this season. But a lackluster derby performance and reports of player unrest are ominous signs for Lucien Favre.
It's not surprising either, given Schalke's dominance throughout the preceding three quarters of the match. They would have won, too, had 18-year old forward Rabbi Matondo been more clinical in front of goal. Dortmund fans will make the 27km trip back across the Ruhrgebiet knowing they were fortunate to leave with a point.
"It was a difficult game for us," Favre admitted in the post-match press conference. "But we can be satisfied with 0-0. After 60 minutes we finally started to play football. We didn't want a draw before the match but we're happy to accept it now."
Serious questions about Favre's ability to turn Dortmund into the sort of ruthless winners their fans crave them to be are surely due. The club spent more than €130 million ($144 million) in the summer and appear no more capable of winning than last season, when they fell short by two points despite enjoying a seven-point lead over Bayern Munich at the beginning of February.
Tactically bereft
Not only is it a question of mentality, as is often the accusation levelled at Dortmund — and one Marco Reus has grown tired of — but of tactics.
Benjamin Stambouli and Axel Witsel compete for the ball in an attritional derby in Gelsenkirchen.Image: Imago Images/Kolvenbach
Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt were left on the bench while Achraf Hakimi, a full back by trade, continues to be experimented with as a wide forward. Why sign two of the Bundesliga's best young forwards to leave them on the bench? Favre doesn't appear too certain either given both came on with the scores still level, but with limited time to make an impact.
When Hazard did enter the fray, after 58 minutes, the player he replaced, Mario Götze, couldn't even bring himself to look at his coach and Sky Sports were reporting, long before the final whistle, that the 27-year-old had taken himself immediately to the car park and driven straight home.
Favre confirmed to DW after the game that Götze's injured hand had needed an urgent x-ray but it's hard to imagine such a wild aspersion being cast about another elite club at the moment.
Either way, something is undoubtedly rotten in the state of Dortmund and rumours, however unfounded, about coaches "losing the dressing room" are usually the first step on the road to unemployment.
Schalke spurn their chance
Schalke, meanwhile, will be cursing themselves for not taking full advantage of the mess their local rivals find themselves in. It wasn't for want of trying; Salif Sane headed against the bar from a corner in the first half and Suat Serdar hammered one against the post 12 minutes before half time.
They should have scored though, and David Wagner will know his team could have risen to the top of the league with a satisfying win over the mob from down the road. What a boost that would have been for a coach who took charge in the summer and has immediately returned the club to the better end of the Bundesliga.
"It was a disappointing result," he said after the game. "We'll take it as it's Borussia Dortmund, it's the derby. But we had the opportunities to win. Rabbi Matondo could have won us the game but he is just 18 years old. He played well and he'll score plenty of goals for us in future."
Opposite directions
Even without all three points, Wagner appears to be in full control of his team and the contrast between the clubs couldn't be starker right now. By contrast, the former Huddersfield Town coach's decision to introduce two attacking players in the second half, believing a win was within their grasp, went down well with fans inside the stadium.
If rumours are to be taken at all seriously, Jose Mourinho is being considered as a replacement to Favre at Dortmund. A damning indictment if ever there was one in that it would represent a complete departure from Favre's playing philosophy and management style.
Brilliant blue skies in Gelsenkirchen provided the backdrop to an ultimately disappointing Revierderby, but it may yet go down as one of the darker days of Favre's tenure as Dortmund coach.
Bundesliga Matchday 9: In pictures
Robert Lewandowski made Bundesliga history, becoming the first player to score in the first nine Bundesliga games of a season. Also, Dortmund got a point in a poor Ruhr derby, Freiburg won again and Paderborn got a win.
Image: AFP/I. Fassbender
Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Gladbach are back on top after beating Frankfurt in an absorbing final game of the weekend. The hosts raced into a 2-0 lead through Marcus Thuram and Oscar Wendt, but were pegged back through Danny da Costa. Gladbach restored their two-goal cushion via Nico Elvedi, who made it 3-1, but Martin Hinteregger's header kept the visitors in it. But Denis Zakaria sealed the win five minutes from time.
Image: AFP/I. Fassbender
Bayern Munich 2-1 Union Berlin
Robert Lewandowski made Bundesliga history against Union, becoming the first player ever to score in the first nine games of a season. He surpassed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's record of eight with the second goal in Bayern's victory over the Berliners after Benjamin Pavard's long range strike had broken the deadlock. Union grabbed a late consolation through Sebastian Polter but Bayern hung on.
Image: Getty Images/S. Widmann
Schalke 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund produced another lacklustre performance but somehow escaped Gelsenkirchen with a point in the Revierderby. Schalke were the better side and twice hit the bar before the break; first Sane and then Serdar. Sancho was Dortmund's main threat but was twice foiled, and Thorgan Hazard was lucky not to concede a penalty when the ball struck his arm in the box.
Image: Imago Images/Kolvenbach
Freiburg 2-1 RB Leipzig
Freiburg maintained their superb start to the season with the scalp of Leipzig at the Schwarzwald stadium. The hosts took the lead through Nicolas Höfler's close-range finish. Nils Petersen doubled their advantage in stoppage time to secure the points, despite Lukas Klostermann's consolation at the death. It wasn't enough for Leipzig as Freiburg climb back up to second, just a point behind Bayern.
Image: Imago Images/Beautiful Sports/G. Gruendl
Hertha Berlin 2-3 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim made it three wins from three, coming out on top of a five-goal thriller in Berlin. The visitors raced into a 2-0 lead courtesy of Jürgen Locadia and Anrej Kramaric, but let their lead slip as Hertha stormed back through Dodi Lukebakio and Salomon Kalou. But Hoffenheim weren't done and grabbed a winner through Benjamin Hübner, before Hertha's Vladimir Darida was sent off late on.
Image: Imago Images/Contrast/O. Behrendt
Paderborn 2-0 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Paderborn finally got their first victory of the season, picking up a deserved win over Düsseldorf. The opener came just before half time when Abdelhamid Sabiri struck, before Sebastian Schonlau secured the three points in the 64th minute. The victory still leaves them bottom of the table but is a much-needed confidence boost, with a crucial game against Augsburg on the horizon.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gentsch
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen held Leverkusen to a 2-2 draw in an entertaining game at BayArena. An Omer Toprak own goal put the hosts ahead, but Bremen roared back in style. Milot Rashica continued his fine form with a fine strike to level and Davy Klaasen also found the net in style. But Leverkusen struck back through Lucas Alario to salvage a point.
Image: Getty Images/C. Koepsel
Mainz 3-1 Cologne
A Robin Quaison thunderbolt stole the show as Mainz came from behind to beat Cologne, who had taken the lead through Simon Terodde. Jean-Paul Boetius' close-range finish squared the game before half time and Quaison raised the roof with an amazing strike from distance. Mainz keeper Robin Zentner pulled off several key saves and Levin Mete Oztunali sealed the points with a low drive late on.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Fotostand
Wolfsburg 0-0 Augsburg
A game to forget, which can only be described as a defeat for football. There were precious few chances until the end, when Wolfsburg's Joao Victor put the ball in the net but it was disallowed after a lengthy VAR stoppage, which eventually saw it disallowed for offside.
