By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Once an enchanting team, Borussia Dortmund is struggling in both Bundesliga and Champions League, and doubters are even to gamble away its chance to win a title this season.
Disappointment couldn't be bigger for the Blacks and Yellows after a disillusioning 3-0 defeat in the first leg, last-16 round of the Champions League against Tottenham Hotspurs.
Fans are in concern that the 2012 German champion is now in danger to lose the race against Bayern Munich for the 2018-2019 German title and spoil their last opportunity.
Statistics speak of a downward trend.
Tabloid Bild assumed Dortmund was in danger "to gamble away everything" as the Bundesliga's leader couldn't achieve a win in last four games, and even conceded three goals to Tottenham.
With two titles seemingly out of their touch, such as the German Cup and the Champions League, Swiss coach Lucien Favre has to find the answers to the injury-plagued team.
Dortmund had to replace team captain Marco Reus (involved in 28 goals in 27 games), defender Manuel Akanji, left back Lukas Piszczek, striker Paco Alcacer and midfielder Julian Weigl.
And more important, the team seems to be in need of a stable mentality and game controlling ability.
"Dortmund is learning about what it means to face the pressure of leading teams in crunch time," the 150-capped former Bayern Munich captain Lothar Matthaeus said, adding "it is all about the robustness of your mind."
Former Liverpool professional Dietmar Hamann even predicted Dortmund might soon lose its 5-point lead in the national league as "Bayern Munich knows all about a strong mind with the finish line in sight."
While the second leg against Tottenham on March 5 "is three weeks away. That is a long time," the 61-year-old Swiss hoped his side to be well advised to get back to the basics "as we now need to concentrate on the Bundesliga."
"Who said it is going to be easy? To win a title over a long season is always a marathon race, and defense is the basis for all," Favre said.
Goalkeeper Roman Buerki said his side is in trouble when facing robust opponents, and "we need to fight back. It has been the same story over the past games."
Buerki demanded more greediness in defending dead balls as "it is sometimes necessary to just kick the can down the road and not always trying to solve tight situations by passing the ball."
Like what the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung wrote, it would be a miracle for Dortmund to advance over Tottenham after a 3-0 first leg defeat.
Thus, Favre is demanding to forget about the Champions League for now. "Our key topic is to improve our game no matter what competition we face. That is going to be a challenge, but we have enough quality."
