Joshua Kimmich's goal gives Bayern Munich the win and a seven-point lead over rivals Borussia Dortmund. Shaka Hislop assesses Erling Haaland's subpar performance in Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich. Craig Burley wonders if Roman Burki should have saved Joshua Kimmich's winning goal for Bayern Munich. Craig Burley questions Lucien Favre's decisions in Dortmund's pivotal 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich. Craig Burley and Jan Aage Fjortoft break down the matchups ahead of Dortmund's clash with Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre hinted his future at the club was uncertain following Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich which all but ended their title hopes.
Dortmund fell seven points behind Bayern, who now look set to win an eighth-straight Bundesliga title despite struggling this season and changing manager themselves.
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"That's what they've said here for months," Favre said when asked on Sky TV about claims he does not know how to lead Dortmund to a title. "I don't read the papers. But I know how it works.
"I will make a statement in a few weeks. I keep calm now and trust myself. I think we played really well. We were better than against Wolfsburg and Schalke. I regret that we didn't at least grab a point here."
Following the defeat to Bayern, Dortmund remain without a significant league win against their rivals since 2012 when they prevailed 1-0 and all but sealed their second consecutive title under Jurgen Klopp.
The ghost of the Liverpool manager still rests heavily on the shoulders of those who succeeded him. Thomas Tuchel, Peter Bosz, Peter Stoger and now Favre all failed to win over the majority of the fans at the Westfalenstadion and only Tuchel managed to win a trophy, the German cup in 2017, but was sacked only days later after clashing with the club hierarchy.
Under contract until 2021, Favre could now become the fourth coach who has failed to leave a lasting impression at Dortmund after fuelling persistent rumours around the camp in recent months that not all is well.
"Favre's days are numbered," German football magazine kicker said following Tuesday's defeat while Bild reported that Dortmund made contact with former Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac several months ago.
Favre was on the brink in late November when Dortmund travelled to Hertha Berlin, but he survived the scare with a win after changing formation to a three-man defence, and it proved to be successful in the coming months.
Up until Tuesday, they had only lost one match -- and won the other nine -- in the second half of the Bundesliga season and they also had overcome their defensive problems.
However, Dortmund, who threw away a nine-point lead at the top of Bundesliga last season, are now trailing Bayern by seven points with only six games left, leading defender Mats Hummels admitted that an eighth consecutive title "is entirely in Bayern's hands now."
Source: espn.co.uk