Borussia Dortmund have now also suffered their first away defeat of the Bundesliga campaign. BVB were deservedly beaten 2-1 (1-1) in their top match away to third-placed VfB Stuttgart.

Boris Rupert reporting from Stuttgart

BVB struggled to settle into the game in front of 55,000 spectators at a sold-out MHPArena and although they went 1-0 ahead with their first shot from Füllkrug in the 36th minute, they were mostly chasing VfB, who levelled through Undav six minutes later. After Kobel had saved a penalty in the first period – the one from Führich in the 11th minute – he was powerless to prevent the second penalty from finding the net: Guirassy sealed the 2-1 win for VfB in the 83rd minute.

The scenario:   
Third versus fourth, both teams were level on 21 points. Borussia Dortmund had won seven of their previous nine Bundesliga away matches against the Swabians and, overall, had more away victories against VfB than against any other club (16). Stuttgart came into the game on the back of two Bundesliga defeats in a row for the first time under coach Sebastian Hoeness (against Hoffenheim, in Heidenheim). Borussia had been unbeaten in 17 Bundesliga matches prior to their defeat against Bayern last time out.

Personnel matters:
It was the same line-up that started in the Champions League four days ago. The entire squad was available apart from Can (bruising) and Duranville (muscular injury).

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Tactics:
Stuttgart switched between a back three, four and five, mostly lining up in a 3-5-2 off the ball and a 4-2-2-2 on the ball. Anton drifted out to the right when VfB were in possession and acted as a third centre-back when BVB attacked, with Leweling then providing defensive cover on the right. Borussia also transitioned seamlessly between a 4-2-3-1 (with Sabitzer next to Özcan in holding midfield) and a 4-3-3 with Sabitzer then almost level with Nmecha.

The match & analysis:
The opening stages were characterised by tactical shifts and little football on both sides, as the two teams looked for positioning and gaps. The first was found by VfB in the form of Anton who played a long ball to Undav, who was brought down by Kobel in the box. Führich stepped up to the spot, but Kobel became the first Dortmund goalkeeper to save a Bundesliga penalty in 10 years (11).

But the save did not serve as a wake-up call. The team could not get any control over the game and the opposition. From the 20th minute onwards, siege was laid to the Dortmund box on several occasions. Kobel made two saves with his legs to deny Undav and Millot (20), while a defensive block at the last moment thwarted Undav’s shot (22). Leweling drew a strong (23) and then an outstanding (30) save from Kobel with two efforts. By the half-hour mark, the shot count stood at 10-0 in VfB Stuttgart’s favour! And BVB already had to make several substitutions on account of injury: Bensebaini replaced Hummels (28, back problems), with Süle lining up alongside Schlotterbeck in central defence.

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The Black & Yellows took the lead with their first attack and their first move around and in the opposition penalty area. Sabitzer turned on the afterburners and Brandt made way for the overlapping Ryerson, whose cross was tapped home by Füllkrug on the left of the six-yard box for 1-0. But the surprising opener did not bring stability for the visitors. VfB took six minutes to score the equaliser: Ito played through to Leweling, who passed the ball into the path of Undav, who beat Kobel with a low shot into the bottom-left corner (42).

Terzic reacted with a double substitution: Malen and Reus replaced Brandt and Adeyemi at the start of the second half. But that had a minimal impact on the number of errors in the game. VfB countered after a loss of possession in midfield and Führich shot from a centre-left position in the box, firing centimetres wide of the right upright (54). But like in the first half, BVB created a top chance almost out of nothing and came close to getting the second goal, with Sabitzer’s deflected shot striking the base of the post (62). Borussia briefly had the upper hand before VfB came back into the game again. Vagnoman’s shot with a quarter of an hour remaining, which was comfortably saved by Kobel, was already the Swabians’ 17th shot compared to four for the Westphalians.

The second penalty for Stuttgart was awarded nine minutes before the end after Silas had broken through and been fouled by Kobel. Top scorer Guirassy, who had been substituted on by this point, coolly slotted home for 2-1 with a powerful and placed effort into the bottom-left corner. Silas struck the side netting from a tight angle a short while later (87).

Outlook:
The few “non-internationals” can recharge their batteries; everyone else will have two internationals to contend with before starting the next slalom through the match calendar in 14 days. There will be eight games in 25 days, starting at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK at 15:30 CET on 25 November.

Teams & goals

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Bundesliga Matchday 11
VFB STUTTGART 2-1 (1-1) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

VfB Stuttgart: Nübel – Anton, Zagadou, Ito – Leweling (Guirassy, 66), Karazor, Stiller, Mittelstädt (Stergiou, 88) – Millot (Jeong, 88), Führich (Vagnoman, 66) – Undav (Silas, 76)
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Süle, Hummels (Bensebaini, 28), Schlotterbeck, Ryerson – Özcan, Sabitzer – Adeyemi (Reus, 46), Nmecha (Reyna, 63), Brandt (Malen, 46) – Füllkrug (Moukoko, 77)
Substitutes: Bredlow, Stenzel, Haraguchi, Rouault – Meyer, Haller, Wolf, Bynoe-Gittens
Goals: 0-1 Füllkrug (Ryerson, 36), 1-1 Undav (Leweling, 42), 2-1 Guirassy (pen. for foul on Silas by Kobel, 83)
Incidents of note: Kobel saves penalty from Führich (Kobel on Undav, 11)
Corners: 6-1 (3-0 at half-time), chance ratio: 10-2 (6-1)
Referee: Stieler (Hamburg), yellow cards: Undav, Karazor – Kobel, Adeyemi, Sabitzer
Attendance: 55,000 (sold-out), weather: largely dry, 8 degrees