Schmelzer: Dortmund must cut out mistakes

Marcel Schmelzer has urged Borussia Dortmund to eradicate the mistakes and defensive frailties that have plagued them in recent matches.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were excellent in their 2-0 defeat of Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League on September 16.

However, that was followed by a disappointing 2-0 Bundesliga defeat at Mainz last weekend, before they had to mount a late comeback to draw 2-2 with Stuttgart at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday, results that have left Dortmund eighth in the table after five matches.

A portion of Dortmund’s mixed start to the season may be attributed to a mounting injury list with the likes of Marco Reus (ankle), Nuri Sahin (knee) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (foot) all currently sidelined.

Full-back Schmelzer, who himself returned from a month-long lay-off with a groin complaint against Arsenal, refused to use injuries as an excuse and insists the team have to focus on improving their defensive record.

“What we, the fit players, shouldn’t do is rest on the fact that other players are injured,” he told Dortmund’s official website. “We need to focus a lot better on defence.

“That has made us strong in the past. Our current problem is that every mistake gets punished. And we make too many mistakes at the moment.

“Our goal must be to make no mistakes at all, like against Arsenal, as we are always capable to score. We have a lot of quality up front, despite the many injuries to the squad.”