Borussia Dortmund’s UEFA Champions League campaign started off with a disappointing 3-1 defeat to SS Lazio in Rome.
In a game in which Jude Bellingham made history, former BVB striker, Ciro Immobile, put his ex-employers to the sword early on and the German’s were unable to recover from it. An own goal from Marwin Hitz saw the scoreline increase before Erling Braut Haaland reduced the deficit to provide them with some hope.
However, Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro restored Lazio’s two-goal lead within five minutes, and the match ended 3-1 in the home side’s favour.
Poor Champions League performances away from home continue
This was Borussia Dortmund’s ninth away fixture of the Lucian Favre era in the Champions League. And, the record does not make for great reading. The club have been beaten in six of those nine and have lost the last four – a run that is the worst since 1958. This should have been a statistic that bettors should know about when looking to place a bet on the best bookmakers available when using online-betting.org for all their betting requirements.
A similar theme also appears to have occurred in each game, bar their trip to Tottenham Hotspur. The BVB concede in the first half and never recover as they struggle to make the most of the chances they create. They have only scored twice in those six defeats.
This match was always going to be their most challenging of the group stage this season away from home as their next away games are in Belgium and Russia when they face Club Brugge on matchday three and Zenit on the final matchday.
Thomas Meunier continues to disappoint
As noted by BVB Buzz, Thomas Meunier continues to struggle at the Signal Iduna Park in his debut season. His appearance against SS Lazio only further highlighted how difficult he has found it to settle in with a yellow jersey.
He made a costly mistake in that Immobile’s goal was from an error he made whilst on the ball. He was caught napping with it and took far too long to decide what to do with it. He was closed down and the Italian’s took advantage.
He was then caught out of position high up the field before the resulting corner from the play found itself hit the back of the net. He then had the opportunity to reduce the deficit but hit his shot horribly wide.
There is no doubt that the departure of Achraf Hakimi has been costly for the Bundesliga outfit as Meunier has struggled to replace him just yet. Although hugely experienced, there will be many at the Signal Iduna Park that will want to see improved performances from the Belgian in the immediate future.
