Dortmund sporting director Kehl upset after latest defeat

Borussia Dortmund's up and down season continued on Saturday in the form of a 2-1 defeat at Union Berlin which prompted sharp criticism from sporting director Sebastian Kehl.

It was the second time in as many weeks that victory in the Champions League was followed by defeat in the Bundesliga where Dortmund are without victory away from home in five matches and have conceded 11 goals in four games.

Ten points from six matches are their worse start into a Bundesliga season in a decade and far from the ambition to challenge for the title they last won in 2012 and threw away on the last matchday in 2023.

By contrast, they have maximum points in the Champions League, where the reached the final last season, from a 3-0 at Club Brugge and 7-1 against Celtic.

Dortmund crashed 5-1 at VfB Stuttgart after last month's win in Belgium, and they could also not carry the form from the Celtic demolition to Berlin where they trailed 2-0 at the half from Kevin Vogt's penalty and Yorbe Vertessen.

Julian Ryerson scored for Dortmund after break but they didn't manage any more, which left Kehl fuming.

"The approach, the way we concede goals, that must not happen to us. We have to defend better. We have to fight better. The first half was simply nothing," Kehl said.

He named the 11 shipped goals "much too much" as he lamented "too many misplaced passes."

Kehl didn't want to blame anyone particular and rather said that the whole team had a responsibility, given that it includes many national team players.

"The way we sometimes behave is simply not on. Every player will know that for themselves," Kehl said.

Coach Nuri Sahin, who took over from Edin Terzic in summer, said: "It is not easy to find the right words. We have to present ourselves in a different way, especially away from home."

Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel said that they must deliver as a top team but also referred to the gruelling schedule.

"We play every three days. We get to bed late, we travel a lot. You are tired. It is difficult to perform well over 90 minutes every three days," Kobel said.