Dortmund ‘hold crisis talk’ with manager Marco Rose following dismal 4-2 loss to Rangers

Borussia Dortmund manager Marco Rose and the team’s hierarchy have reportedly held a ‘crisis meeting’ following an embarrassing 4-2 defeat at home against Rangers on Thursday night.

The Bundesliga side were dismantled by the Scottish champions in the first leg of their Europa League tie, a defeat which only intensified the scrutiny Rose already found himself under.

According to Sky Germany, shortly after the game Rose was summoned to a meeting with Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke, Michael Zorc and Sebastian Kehl, respectively the current and incumbent sporting director.

The report indicated that while Dortmund’s hierarchy met with Rose, his position isn’t understood to be in danger for the time being. The scenario, however, could change should the Black and Yellows fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.

They are currently second in the Bundesliga, six points behind league leaders Bayern. 

The defeat against Rangers was Dortmund’s second consecutive loss at home in all competitions, coming just 11 days after a disastrous 5-2 reversal against Bayern Leverkusen at the Westfalenstadion.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke was among those meeting with Rose on Thursday

News of the meeting came after veteran defender Mats Hummels delivered a scathing assessment of the team’s tactical approach, describing it as ‘nonsensical’ and not suited to deliver results.

‘If you look at the Leverkusen game [a 5-2 loss for Dortmund], we conceded four goals after unnecessarily losing the ball,’ he told German broadcaster RTL.

‘That happened with the first, second and fourth goals here.

‘I think we know what our problem is. The coach mentions it often enough.’ 

Mats Hummels delivered a scathing assessment of Dortmund’s tactical approach

Hummels, who won a combined 14 major trophies with Dortmund and Bayern Munich, added: ‘We’re playing an awful lot of nonsensical football, a lot of illogical football and making our opponents so strong.

‘Our football is also too complicated.

‘We play a lot of nonsensical football, so you can sometimes win and sometimes lose. But you’ll never be successful like that.’ 

Rangers pulled off a stunning win at the Westfalenstadion against the Bundesliga Giants

Jude Bellingham temporarily made it 3-1 shortly after John Lundstram’s goal for Rangers

Raphael Guerreiro scored a cracker late on to give Dortmund a glimmer of hope

Rose’s men had the better of the opening exchanges on Thursday night, before falling apart in spectacular fashion. James Tavernier converted a penalty late in the first half to give Rangers the lead, before Alfredo Morelos added a second just three minutes later.

John Lundstram added a third shortly after the break and Dan-Axel Zagadou deflected the ball into his own net, not long after Jude Bellingham had given Dortmund a lifeline.

Raphael Guerreiro’s spectacular long-range effort limited the deficit, but Dortmund have a mountain to climb when they travel to Ibrox next week for the second leg.