Borussia Dortmund – VfB Stuttgart: Hoeneß Counterpunch Floors Kovač’s Dortmund (1-2)

Niko Kovač looked to kick off his Dortmund tenure with a victory at the Westfalenstadion. His side created the better chances and largely kept Stuttgart in check, but costly lapses in concentration allowed Sebastian Hoeneß’s men to capitalize and leave with all three points.

Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.

Borussia Dortmund’s season has swayed far past the desired trajectory line. After a disappointing first half to the campaign, Nuri Şahin was relieved of his managerial duties in late January. The chosen replacement is an experienced Bundesliga coach who has previously managed Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich, and most recently Wolfsburg. Kovač has also won honours in Germany, with two DFB-Pokal trophies, a DFL-Supercup, and a Bundesliga title with the Bavarians.

A match against VfB Stuttgart is not a fixture that Kovač would have ideally wanted to smoothly ease into his tenure as Dortmund manager. However, a win over the 4th-placed Bundesliga team could have represented a sign of change under new management. Meanwhile, Hoeneß’s team have been trying to find some form after suffering three defeats in a row in all competitions. Last weekend, however, a narrow 1-0 victory over Augsburg in the DFB-Pokal was much welcome to get them back on track.

Ahead of the clash between Dortmund and Stuttgart, both managers made alterations to the last featured lineup. Kovač made one change to the side that Mike Tullberg fielded against Heidenheim, with Karim Adeyemi returning for Julien Duranville at . . .