Why Jurgen Klopp Must Shoulder the Blame for Borussia Dortmund's Latest Defeat

Borussia Dortmund will finish this weekend bottom of the Bundesliga table—with eight defeats from their first 13 matches of the season. 

This time it was Eintracht Frankfurt, a side that currently holds the fourth-worst home run in the league this season, who welcomed Dortmund to the Commerzbank-Arena on Sunday evening (knowing well that a win over the former champions was perfectly plausible). 

Ninety minutes and two goals later, Jurgen Klopp's side was walking off the pitch to boos and abuse from its own (usually loyal) fans. Dortmund had given up another three points as the poor form continued.

Like a recurring nightmare, Dortmund fans were once again asked to lump their faith in Matthias Ginter, who duly proved every man and his dog right by being at fault for both of Frankfurt's bizarre goals. 

The recently acquired central defender was at least five yards behind the rest of the defence when he played Alexander Meier onside for the opening goal. He also essentially set up Haris Seferovic for his concluding finish to the game.

Once regarded as something of a prodigy in the Bundesliga, the young German has transformed into a bomb scare from one game to the next. If Ginter is of any use to the club at this moment in time, it is surely as a stick to beat Klopp with from justifiably angry fans. Why does the coach stand by the troubled defender?

For all of Ginter's faults and terrible form, the real blame lies with the coach who continues to pick him despite the clear trouble he's going through at the moment. Adapting to life at Dortmund is one thing, but for Klopp to continue playing him suggests an unfathomable amount of incompetence on his part. 

Fault with the manager doesn't stop here though.

Another odd selection on Sunday evening was the addition of both Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender to the Dortmund lineup, suggesting that Klopp had in fact chosen to play two defensive midfielders against a relegation-battling side. 

Ilkay Gundogan was dropped for his sins against Arsenal during the week and Paderborn the Sunday before, while Nuri Sahin returned to the matchday squad following his own spell out with injury. 

Yet what may have seemed like a logical move on Klopp's part quickly descended into chaos as the coach and fans alike realised that Dortmund simply couldn't attack with such a defensive midfield pulling the strings. 

At times throughout the first half, both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Shinji Kagawa looked isolated up front as the midfield struggled to carry and pass the ball with the sort of technique and pace expected of a Dortmund side. 

The sight of Henrikh Mkhitaryan labouring on the ball or trying to dribble his way out of Dortmund's own half was a troubling one—and a tactic that did few favours for the visiting side. The Armenian, short of form and fitness from the looks of things, is not a box-to-box midfielder and truly struggled with the task of linking the two stubborn central midfielders with the attacking line. 

Essentially, Klopp simply got it wrong. Frankfurt didn't need to be tackled, shoved and intimidated off the ball—they needed to be dribbled past and passed around. Dortmund tried the former throughout the match when, in fact, they should have been doing the latter. 

Elsewhere we found Erik Durm keep his place in the side despite a continued run of poor form that dates back to the end of last season. Now that Marcel Schmelzer—the only left-footed left-back at the club—has returned from injury, Klopp really should be considering his former regular for the role. 

Durm offers plenty of promise and skill when he's on form, but as a right-footed player he must always prove that he can bring more to Dortmund's attack than a player who can cross the ball naturally from the left. He hasn't done that in quite a while, and it's about time his manager noticed.

These individual mistakes across the pitch paint a mosaic of Dortmund's troubled season, with each one ultimately coming back to one man making each decision. 

Yes, Ginter looks raw and far from ready for Dortmund. Sure, Dortmund didn't need two defensive midfielders on the day. However, both of these situations are only allowed to exist because the manager stands by them. 

Klopp is where each question and rant ultimately ends, and it is he—rather than any of his players—who needs a shake.