Three talking points from Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 demolition by Hoffenheim

Kramaric ran roughshod over uninterested Dortmund with an amazing quadruple.

Borussia Dortmund were left battered by Hoffenheim on the final matchday of the 2019/20 season after an abysmally lethargic performance. Andrej Kramaric, who also netted the winner in the reverse, scored all the four goals of the afternoon in what’s arguably the greatest outing of his career so far.

This was no tactical masterclass from the Kraichgauer, but just that BVB were totally uninterested and made no discerning effort whatsoever to win. It’s a shame that their promising season ended on such a bitter note, but Lucien Favre and co. have only themselves to blame for the catastrophe.

Here are the major talking points from the clash:

BVB looked completely uninterested

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It was as if Borussia Dortmund were least bothered about the game. With second position already sewn up and Champions League spot confirmed, they only had ‘pride’ at stakes. Turns out, that wasn’t enough to motivate the players, who didn’t even care showing up. The defense was asleep at the wheel whereas the lack of urgency upfront was simply astounding.

When was the last time you remember BVB so lax and lackluster? This is a team which has earned the reputation of one of the most exciting and youthful in Europe in the last few years, so the defeatist mentality and ‘not-give-two-hoots’ attitude with which Lucien Favre’s men approached this game was utterly disappointing to say the least.

King Kramaric reigns supreme

Andrej Kramaric is one happy camper going into the summer break. He managed to gloss over his mediocre campaign with an awe-inspiring performance to put Dortmund to the sword. Whilst the first two goals were more down to brilliant team work, his hat-trick strike and then the no-look penalty kick were pure class. The Croatian finished with 12 goals for the season, but also hit some unique milestones in the process – he became the first player in Hoffenheim’s history to net four times in a match, as well as the first visiting player ever to score four at the Signal Iduna Park!

Dortmund must imbibe winning mentality to challenge Bayern

If we were to talk about individual performances (Leonardo Balerdi had a forgetful debut, Erling Haaland was non-existent, Julian Brandt looked unsettled in the midfield, Matts Hummels looked like a Sunday League defender etc.), then it would make for a separate story, but the responsibility of this debacle rests on the entire squad. Including Lucien Favre. The result was a poor allegory to the dearth of winning mentality in the side, something that’s really imperative to win the league.

Bayern too had nothing to fight for, yet they cantered to a 4-0 thumping of Wolfsburg. That is exactly what separates the Klassiker rivals right now. Dortmund have the necessary talent to challenge for the Bundesliga crown, but must imbibe the attitude and temperament of winning at all costs. They dropped far too many points against facile teams, and moreover, from winning position. If they are serious about wrestling the title away from the Bavarians, this must change.