Dortmund hit rock bottom, Wolfsburg tighten grip on second

Last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund dropped to last place in the Bundesliga on Sunday after their 2-0 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt as VfL Wolfsburg tightened their hold on second spot.

>>Reuters
Published : 1 Dec 2014, 07:08 AM
Updated : 1 Dec 2014, 07:08 AM

Beleaguered Dortmund hit the woodwork and wasted a bagful of chances in a largely one-sided game but could do nothing to come back from a fifth-minute goal by Bundesliga top scorer Alexander Meier, who took his tally to eight.

Defensive mistakes, with central defenders Mats Hummels and Sokratis Papastathopoulos still out injured, proved costly with Frankfurt's second goal gifted by Germany international Matthias Ginter.

"We had plenty of chances, no doubt about it. But we did not use them," Klopp told reporters. "We face a huge challenge now. As for the second goal, that belongs to our own cabinet of curiosities. Our opponents did not have to do much."

Dortmund instantly took control after Meier's opener but missed chance after chance with Henrikh Mkhitaryan failing twice to score from a clear position.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's shot in the 24th minute was blocked by goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald and Kevin Grosskreutz's rebound shook the post.

Dortmund, Bundesliga champions in 2011 and 2012, could not even score when coach Klopp, who will surely start to feel some pressure after years of success, brought on a second striker in Adrian Ramos with the Colombian wasting his share of opportunities.

Instead it was Frankfurt who benefited from yet another defensive error, a mix-up between Ginter and keeper Roman Weidenfeller, with the defender heading into the path of Haris Seferovic for a simple tap-in.

Dortmund's eighth loss in 13 league games continued their domestic freefall this season, dropping the 2013 Champions League finalists to last place on 11 points.

Wolfsburg outmuscled direct rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0 earlier on Sunday to go three points clear in second place and keep leaders Bayern Munich in sight.

Robin Knoche scored in the 12th minute, after Gladbach failed to clear a corner, to secure Wolfsburg's seventh win in the last eight league games that moved them to 26 points, seven behind Bayern, who edged past Hertha Berlin 1-0 on Saturday.

Gladbach had a lot of possession but hosts Wolfsburg were far more dangerous, repeatedly catching the visitors off guard with quick breaks.

Gladbach, who had a golden chance to level in stoppage time from a goal mouth scramble, dropped to fifth on 20 points after their third straight loss following a good start to the season.