Opinion: BVB have little time to learn from their mistakes

Even before kick-off in the sold-out Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, questions were being asked of Lucien Favre's decision to make four changes to the Borussia Dortmund team which beat Werder Bremen 2-1 at the weekend.

But with Dortmund playing the second of three games in seven days, Favre's decision to make use of one of the most well-stocked squads in the league was more than understandable.

After all, with Jacob Bruun Larsen, Mario Götze and Christian Pulisic all coming into the starting eleven, Dortmund possessed more than enough quality to break down a defense which has conceded on average more than two goals per game this season.

But that quality never really came. Götze and Pulisic were particularly disappointing, and the difference in tempo and vision was noticeable when Jadon Sancho and Paco Alcacer came on in the second half.

What was less understandable however was the high line adopted by the Dortmund back-four against a Fortuna team which, led by the lightning-fast Dodi Lukebakio, was clearly set up to play on the counter-attack.

"We were stood too high and they did really well," admitted Favre post-match. "We knew what they were going to do but we couldn't avoid it."

It was a strange admission from the Swiss tactician. Lukebakio scored a hat-trick in a famous 3-3 draw away at Bayern Munich in November, pouncing twice on the break. And the Watford loanee repeated the trick against Dortmund after Bruun Larsen had been caught in possession in midfield. Dortmund knew exactly what to expect and yet played right into Fortuna's hands.

"The team is still very young and they are learning every day," said Favre in mitigation, adding that defenders Manuel Akanji (22), Abdou Diallo (23) and Dan-Axel Zagadou (19) are all doubtful for the visit of second-place Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday night.

"We made stupid mistakes in our build-up play," added Dortmund captain Marco Reus. "We lost the ball with sloppy passes." Similar errors will be suicidal against the free-scoring Foals.

For the final game before the winter break, Favre will rotate again and make use of his squad. But more importantly, Dortmund have 72 hours to find a way to deal with Thorgan Hazard, Alassane Plea and co better than they handled Lukebakio.