Kovac debut ends with defeat: Dortmund stumbles against Stuttgart!

Kovac debut ends with defeat: Dortmund stumbles against Stuttgart!

this day, February 10, 2025, Borussia Dortmund had to take a bitter defeat against VfB Stuttgart. This was the first game under the new coach Niko Kovac, who took over the team after Nuri Şahin was released. Sahin was released from changeable performance after a series, and interim coach Mike Tullberg was only a limited success in three games.

The game was characterized by a dominant ball possession statistics of the Dortmund, which could not be implemented in effective goal opportunities. The first half ended goalless, although Dortmund had more ball shares. Kovac had only made a change in the team in the team compared to the last game, where Tullberg was able to win against Shakhtar Donetsk.

defeat in the debut of Kovac

Stuttgart took the lead in the 51st minute through an own goal of Anton. Just five minutes later, Chabot increased to 2-0. Dortmund, which was now under pressure, did not find the necessary access to the game. In the 78th minute, Julian Brandt managed a connection goal. This was the result of a good individual campaign after a corner, but the goal was too late. Dortmund's offensive efforts remained under the expectations.

In injury time there was further excitement. Brandt failed with a free kick and Rerson saw the yellow-red card after a second warning. Stuttgart's Demirovic still had the chance of 3-1, but was whistled back. Despite the late connection goal, Dortmund remained.

table situation and outlook

With this defeat, Dortmund remains 11th in the lower area of ​​the Bundesliga table and has so far has a season balance of 8 wins, 5 draws and 7 defeats in 20 games. The gap to the top four is now four points. Kovac will have to take care of the upcoming challenges in the coming weeks, including a Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon.

On the part of VfB Stuttgart, the current form shows better. The club is in 5th place, only one point behind the Champions League places, and had a record of 9 wins, 5 draws and 6 defeats before the duel with Dortmund. Stuttgart had lost the last two league games, but was able to return to Augsburg in the DFB Cup with a win against Augsburg. With a clear goal in mind to complete the league doubles over Dortmund, the Stuttgarters achieved an important victory in this game.

The list of injuries at Dortmund included Niklas Süle and Felix Nmecha, while Nico Schlotterbeck was not available due to a lock. Stuttgart also had to do without some players, including Dan-Axel Zagadou and El Bilal Touré. There are also doubts about the availability of Enzo Millot and others.