"Total flop" in London: Hummels lays into BVB | OneFootball

After the 0-2 loss at Tottenham, Mats Hummels delivers a scathing assessment of BVB and especially criticizes the shockingly weak first half in the Champions League.

Borussia Dortmund suffered a painful setback in the Champions League. In the 0-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, BVB squandered the chance to put themselves in a better position for direct qualification to the round of 16 with an alarmingly poor first half. Mats Hummels’ analysis was particularly blunt.

The former Dortmund center-back spoke plainly on Prime Video: “The first half was almost a total failure.” And Hummels went further: “The first half was not worthy of a Champions League match, especially one where something is at stake.” The 2014 World Cup winner did not hold back his criticism and made it clear how disappointed he was with his former team’s performance.

The evening started off badly for Dortmund right from the beginning. After a weak start, BVB conceded the 0-1 to Cristian Romero. Things got even worse with a red card for Daniel Svensson midway through the first half, who was sent off after a VAR review. With a man advantage, Tottenham doubled their lead before the break through Dominic Solanke to make it 2-0—a scoreline that accurately reflected the first 45 minutes.

Sebastian Kehl criticizes BVB’s weak first half

Sporting director Sebastian Kehl also appeared disillusioned after the final whistle. “The first half was bad—few tackles, hardly any direct duels won, little intensity,” he summarized, speaking of carelessly squandered chances. Particularly bitter: The Spurs themselves had disappointed for weeks beforehand and were far from being in top form.

After the break, BVB stabilized, partly thanks to more defensive substitutions. Despite being a man down, Dortmund showed a more respectable side, but were unable to get back into the game in any meaningful way. Defender Nico Schlotterbeck summed it up soberly, calling it an overall deserved defeat.

With this loss, Dortmund now faces the prospect of having to go through the play-offs. Before the final group stage match against Inter Milan, it is clear: a place among the top eight is now hardly attainable. Hummels’ criticism is likely to resonate for some time—not only because of its severity, but because it hit the sore spot of an overall lifeless performance.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.