A 3-3 draw in Ingolstadt was unsatisfactory, and the BVB pros are making no secret of that fact after a run of three games without a win now in the Bundesliga. "We had intended to take all three points", said keeper Roman Weidenfeller, for example. Julian Weigl also showed himself to be "disappointed to have only taken a point". 

Only a single point taken from the last placed team in the league. "A pity. Unnecessary", thought Weidenfeller. But perhaps also unavoidable, given that Borussia have been missing half a dozen key players for weeks now. Amongst others, Bender, Reus, Schürrle, Guerreiro, Sokratis and Schmelzer are currently out...

Thomas Tuchel comes to his team's defense

"You shouldn't forget that we are having to use quite a lot of the A-Youth team players", reminded BVB Manager Thomas Tuchel those present at the press conference. "Matthias Ginter and Jule Weigl are still eligible to play for the U21s. We're talking about young players, who we unquestioningly think are capable of playing at this level every three days."

image
Mario Götze playing for BVB in Ingolstadt.

With regard to the match in Ingolstadt, Tuchel's assertions were only partly true. The starting eleven was on average 26.9 years young, reduced to 24.6 by the end of the encounter. In the Audi-Sportpark, it was also predominantly the "A-Youth" team players who contributed to the clawing back of the 3-3 draw. Pulisic (18 years old) set up BVB's second goal to get back to 3-2 after having been brought on, and then went on to score the final equaliser (90'+1). Passlack (18), who also appeared as a substitute, made for robust play in attack.

As well as a lack of concentration during set-pieces (6', 24'), the problem in Ingolstadt was not simply the team's inexperience, but also in the first half, – as expressed by Matthias Ginter - the "worst team performance that I have ever experienced in my career". Marc Bartra (25), who had played confidently during the week in Lisbon alongside Sokratis, had a bad day at the office (and that can, and may, occur), while the 29 year old Gonzalo Castro was lacking match fitness after a three week lay off due to injury, though BVB's only chance of the first half fell to him. The same was true for Joo-Ho Park (29), who was given the nod to play from the start for the first time since January in the Bundesliga. Shinji Kagawa (27) too, was unable to make the game his own, as he began for only the fourth time in twelve competitive matches this season.

An impressive second half from BVB

In contrast though, BVB's comeback in the second half was impressive as they created seven clear chances for themselves, and, through Aubameyang (59'), Ramos (69') and Pulisic (90'+1), were able to turn the game around after it had stood 3-1 in the 60' minute, and came close to snatching victory via Aubameyang (90'+4). "When you watch the second half, it is even more infuriating that we weren't able to play like that in the first. The 3-3 result feels like a loss", was the 21 year old Julian Weigl's verdict on the proceedings, despite the team looking superior with 70% ball possession in the first half. "We were not focussed in the first half, simply not ready, especially during set pieces. We showed a lot more character in the second half", said Christian Pulisic.

BVB Boss Hans Joachim Watzke remained composed after the draw. He said, in the Aktuellen Sportstudio: "Our fighting spirit will be there for all to see, you can be sure about that. We are using the current turmoil as an opportunity to blood young players and build a new, younger team. We should not forget, that the title we won in 2011/12 needed two or three years of preparation." (fu)