Bundesliga: Dortmund lose further pace to Bayern as Leipzigs season gets worse

(Football news) Dortmund suffered their 5th loss of the season as they lost 3-2 against a rampant Hertha Berlin side. Dortmund in the first half looked very assured as Julian Brandt opened the scoring with a clever dink over the keeper Alexander Schwolow to put them in front in the 31st minute. Hertha grew in confidence as they equalised six minutes after halftime when Ishak Belfoldil slotted the ball under Marwin Hitz before Richter put Hertha 2-1 up in the 57th minute with an outstanding finish, placing the ball into the top far corner. The forward then again scored with a thundering shot on the rebound in the 69th as the Dortmund defence was in chaos after an error by Brandt on the edge of the box. Substitute for Dortmund Steffen Tiggen rose highest to drill in a header and cut the deficit seven minutes from time as Dortmund end the year with 34 points, nine points behind runaway leader Bayern

“We did not get the three points. We took the lead under difficult conditions and then just gave away goals. We tried to manage the game too much. We have aims and expectations, and the result and our position in the standings is clear. We are missing this unconditional football” said Dortmund coach Marco Rose.

'We are talking about attitude. It is clear the lads wanted it, but Hertha were more passionate and with their comeback they deserved it and we left with empty hands,' he said.

“Now we will have to carry a defeat through our holidays, and I hope that will lead to a change in attitude when we meet in the new year.”

RB Leipzig capped off their terrible first half of the season with a 2-0 loss to relegation-threatened Arminia. Janni Serra opened the scoring in the 58th minute at Leipzig's Red Bull Arena. For Leipzig, their hopes of another upset were jeopardized by a 70th-minute red card for Fabian Klos as Okugawa sealed the result with a clinical finish in the 75th minute, making no mistake after having an earlier goal wiped out for offside. With this result Leipzig moved down to 10th in the table with 22 points

“Our first half was good, even though we didn't have many chances. We weren't as effective as we wanted to be, but overall we were dominant. Bielefeld are always compact in their defence and that makes it hard to find spaces. Our plan was to carry on in the same way for the second half. When we went behind, it obviously became more difficult. However, we should have won this game. In our situation, it's very disappointing.

“The first goal came from a counter attack. We lost the ball in a dangerous area and were unable to win it back with our pressing. The second goal also came from us losing possession. It’s very frustrating. We controlled the game and also had some chances. But coming back from 2-0 down is incredibly difficult.

“There have been many games in this first half of the season that we should have taken more from. Today was one of those. Football is like that sometimes. Our errors were punished. It is very disappointing that we have 22 points. We have to make sure that we have a strong second half of the season. Our situation isn't an easy one but we have to clear our heads over the winter break and come back strongly" said Peter Gulasci.

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