Borussia Dortmund back to losing ways as Hertha Berlin impress

Updated: May 17, 2023, 06:25 am
Julian Schieber's 40th-minute goal was the difference between Hertha Berlin and Dortmund.
Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images

Hertha Berlin sent Borussia Dortmund tumbling to their ninth defeat of the Bundesliga season with a 1-0 win at the Olympiastadion.

Julian Schieber's goal against his former club was enough to earn Jos Luhukay's men all three points and lift them three clear of their opponents, who slip inside the bottom three once again.

Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund, who will be one of the seeds in the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League on Monday, find themselves thrust further into a relegation battle with 14 points from 15 games this season.

Both sides found chances hard to come by in a game which, despite the traditions and history of both clubs, was living up to its billing as a relegation battle.

Ronny went close to giving the hosts the lead in the 26th minute with a free-kick which he curled over the wall and just missed the top right-hand corner with Mitchell Langerak beaten.

Dortmund then lost Henrikh Mkhitaryan to a thigh injury with Jakub Blaszczykowski replacing him.

Things took a further turn for the worse for Klopp's men when Per Skjeldbred sent a ball through for Schieber, who skipped past the challenge of Mats Hummels and then threw Sebastian Kehl a dummy to make room to shoot past Langerak.

It was the former Dortmund forward's fifth goal of the season.

Ilkay Gundogan sent a long-range shot just inches over the crossbar in the 42nd minute, but the fact that was the Westphalians' first shot on goal was indicative of the problems they were having.

Those problems would have worsened had Langerak not saved Dortmund from falling further behind just before the interval when he made a save with his foot to deny Roy Beerens.

It took Dortmund until the 70th minute to get in their first shot on goal with Hummels' header from a corner rattling the crossbar.

Klopp's men had to gamble and go for broke in the Olympiastadion and they went close to equalising twice through Ciro Immobile, who was first denied by a fine save from Thomas Kraft before he headed wide from close range with the goal at his mercy.

It was too little too late from Klopp's men, who fell to a ninth defeat in 15 games with their domestic form continuing to cause concern.