Battered by Bayern, Borussia Dortmund Need to Regroup over International Break

Without a win in four competitive matches after a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich on Sunday, Borussia Dortmund's impressive start to the season is firmly in the rearview mirror. 

"We didn't put in a bad performance", captain Mats Hummels told official Dortmund TV channel BVBTotal after the game. 

Dortmund started the game well. Thomas Tuchel surprised with his lineup, which saw Lukasz Piszczek start as left-back for the first time in his career and center-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos at right-back, tasked to contain the rampant Douglas Costa. In midfield, he opted for Gonzalo Castro over Marco Reus in a move predicted by Bleacher Report's Mark Jones.

Castro's inclusion in central midfield seemed like a shrewd move, since it allowed Shinji Kagawa to man-mark Xabi Alonso, perhaps Bayern Munich's most important player in the buildup.

Dortmund's plan worked to perfection in the opening 20 minutes of the game. After 15 minutes, Henrikh Mkhitaryan broke through on the left wing and was in perfect position to play a simple pass for a tap-in, but Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made essentially the same run in the box, leaving Mkhitaryan without a cutback option.

Ten minutes later, Dortmund gave away an easy goal, as a long ball from center-back Jerome Boateng hung in the air for a good four seconds. Piszczek didn't track Thomas Muller's run, and Dortmund keeper Roman Burki rushed out of his goal to prevent the unpreventable.

A rather soft penalty for Munich was converted by Muller 10 minutes from half-time to make it 2-0 for the hosts. Replays of the incident were inconclusive, but it seemed like Thiago Alcantara used the slightest of touches from Mkhitaryan to fall down. Most onlookers will have thought the game was over at that point.

However, a brilliant team move saw Mkhitaryan redeem himself quickly, as he shifted the ball cleverly to Castro on the right wing, who then found Aubameyang at the back post. The mercurial Gabonese slotted the ball home from close range, getting Borussia back in the game before half-time.

Then it all went wrong.

Their efforts were undone just 25 seconds after referee Marco Fritz restarted the game. Another long ball from Boateng had Dortmund's defence scrambling, as Robert Lewandowski got away from both center-backs. Burki didn't look convincing trying to save his team, as he more or less let Lewandowski pass the ball into the net unhindered.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Hummels called Bayern Munich's third goal "a killer", and Dortmund indeed never recovered, conceding two more goals, both scored by former Dortmund stars Lewandowski and Mario Gotze to make it even more painful. Borussia's Twitter account captured the feeling of squad and fans alike:

As Bayern took the foot off the gas later in the game, Dortmund had some chances to score a consolation goal, but Bayern's deserved win was never in jeopardy.

Their superiority was evidenced by the expected goals chart from ESPN FC's Michael Caley:

"

xG map for Bayern-Dortmund. Bayern Munich are ridiculous right now. So, so good. pic.twitter.com/AoEd5M2gHt

— Michael Caley (@MC_of_A) October 4, 2015"

To call the timing of this first loss in 15 games under Thomas Tuchel's reign inopportune might be an understatement.

After much of the media-driven discussion before the game had centered on Dortmund's being the only club able to save the Bundesliga from the boredom of another undisputed championship for Bayern Munich, the international break will give the media almost two weeks to lay into the club.

Dortmund will seek to regroup over the break but might find that a tall order. Most players will be scattered across the globe with their national teams, so Tuchel won't be able to work on the things he mentioned to German TV station Sky after the game with the whole squad: 

"

We need to go back to the details of defending: When do we push forward and when do we stay put? We need to heighten our defensive attentiveness and positional discipline. And we need to see that through for 90 minutes. It's imperative that we shake this off and reposition ourselves.

"

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

A rare Friday fixture following the break at Tuchel's previous club, Mainz 05, will be a first indication of the progress Dortmund have made in their problem areas.