For the dedicated supporter of Borussia Dortmund, the start of every new Bundesliga season is a familiar cocktail of fervent hope and creeping dread. This year, the mixture feels particularly potent. Just ten games into the 2025/2026 campaign, the Black and Yellows sit seven points behind the relentless pace of league leaders Bayern Munich. They are nestled in the Champions League places, yes, but the question that echoes around Signal Iduna Park is not if they can win the title, but why they are once again allowing it to slip away so early.
This isn’t just a simple matter of points dropped; it’s a systemic issue involving the man in the dugout, the underperformance of key stars, and the painful gap in mentality that still separates BVB from their most formidable rivals. We take a deep dive into the alarm bells ringing across Dortmund and what must change if they are to halt the painful slide.
The Kovač Conundrum: Stable But Not Ruthless
When Niko Kovač arrived in January 2025, the mood quickly shifted from chaos to competence. The former Bayern and Monaco boss—who steered his previous clubs to both silverware and European football—quickly steadied the ship, collecting 22 out of a possible 24 points to ensure a critical Champions League qualification finish. It was a recovery that fueled genuine hope that the Croat was the pragmatic, title-winning figure Dortmund desperately needed.
Yet, this season has presented a different challenge: building consistency and mounting a sustained attack on the top. This is where Kovač’s position has come under intense, if quiet, scrutiny.
The fundamental problem isn’t leaky defence, which historically plagues Dortmund. In fact, Die Borussen boast one of the best defensive records in the league, conceding just seven goals in ten matches—a total only bettered by Bayern. However, a startling pattern has emerged: every time Dortmund concedes a goal, they drop points. The seven goals conceded correlate exactly with the seven points lost (three draws and one defeat).
The failure to turn draws into wins, particularly against sides they should comfortably defeat, has been fatal. Dropped points against strugglers St. Pauli and Hamburger SV due to late equalizers highlight a severe lack of mental fortitude and focus in crucial moments. Furthermore, when they faced the ambitious sides who share their expectations—Bayern and RB Leipzig—they came up short, losing those high-stakes encounters.
Kovač’s tactical setup appears defensively solid but sometimes creatively stifled. The weight of expectations is immense, and the fact that his own contract is set to expire at the end of next season only adds to the pressure cooker environment. He needs to transform Dortmund from a team that can get results into a team that is utterly ruthless—and he needs to do it fast.
The Silent Stars: When Strikers Go Missing
A title challenge lives and dies by the performance of its talisman. For Dortmund this season, that man was supposed to be Serhou Guirassy, the star striker they acquired from rivals Stuttgart. Guirassy’s debut campaign was electric, yielding 21 Bundesliga goals and a shared Champions League Golden Boot. He was heralded as the ‘life insurance’ for Dortmund’s attack.
Now, that policy looks dangerously underwritten. Guirassy is enduring a challenging spell, netting just a single goal in his last eight competitive appearances. A minor injury disrupted his rhythm in October, but his struggle to rediscover his scoring sharpness has crippled Dortmund’s final third production. While Kovač has publicly backed the striker, emphasizing his work rate and overall contribution, the harsh reality of the table speaks louder: goals win games, and Dortmund isn’t scoring enough to bridge the gap.
But the issue extends beyond the number nine. The inconsistency of the senior, high-profile players who are meant to be the spine of the team is perhaps more concerning. Julian Brandt, the creative fulcrum, has been cited as below par for much of the season, failing to produce the consistent magic required to unlock tight defences. Similarly, veteran leaders like Emre Can and Niklas Süle have faced criticism for oscillating form, providing flashes of brilliance followed by lapses in concentration that cost points.
These are the established international-level players who need to drag the team through tough moments. When they underperform, the youthful squad has no foundation of reliable excellence to build upon, leading to the collective dip that defines their current run. Kovač has even hinted at potential squad reshuffles, recognizing that wholesale changes are necessary, even if the depth isn’t quite there to execute a full overhaul.
The Unrelenting Competition
Ultimately, the Bundesliga is an unforgiving league, and Dortmund’s difficulties are magnified by the stunning quality of their rivals.
Look no further than the summit. Bayern Munich remains relentlessly perfect, boasting a near-flawless 9 wins and 1 draw in ten matches, holding a massive +29 goal difference. The comparison in forward power is brutal: while Guirassy struggles, Harry Kane has already tallied 13 goals in 10 games for Bayern. That seven-point difference represents not just a numerical deficit, but a chasm in confidence, consistency, and clinical efficiency.
Furthermore, Dortmund’s immediate competition is closer and hungrier than ever. RB Leipzig sits second, one point ahead of BVB. More critically, Stuttgart, who are performing brilliantly under Sebastian Hoeness, are level on points with Dortmund, only trailing on goal difference. Stuttgart, the side Dortmund poached Guirassy from, has become BVB’s new bogey team, remaining unbeaten against them in their last six matches (five wins, one draw). The fact that a team competing to establish themselves in the top four has such a mental hold over Dortmund underscores the scale of BVB’s fragility.
The Road Ahead
Dortmund’s season is far from over, but the margin for error is non-existent. To claw back a seven-point deficit, Kovač must find a way to re-ignite Guirassy and demand consistent, error-free football from his senior core. More than tactics, it requires instilling a championship mentality—the ruthlessness to score the second and third goals, and the mental resilience to shut down games when they are ahead.
If Kovač and his squad cannot find this combination quickly, the familiar, painful script of the Bundesliga will play out once again, leaving the Yellow Wall to wonder, yet again, what might have been. The clock is ticking in Westphalia.
