Borussia Dortmund's performance in the 2-0 defeat by Union Berlin left both fans and officials frustrated. Sebastian Kehl made a clear statement to the team, both internally and publicly.

As if the defeat itself hadn't caused enough frustration and anger, BVB also put in a simply bad and almost sleepy performance on Sunday afternoon. Dortmund's 2-0 defeat against Union Berlin was the reward they deserved.

Since it was already the fourth bankruptcy after ten games, Borussia is currently only eighth in the table. It's particularly annoying, since FC Bayern has also weakened in the young season, giving them a theoretical chance of moving up to the top of the table. A chance that the Iron Ones use instead.

"Eighth place is not our claim, that's not what we expect," emphasized Sebastian Kehl on Monday (via Ruhr Nachrichten). The sports director was annoyed and explained: "The fact that we often deliver such a first half before we improve gives us food for thought. So we have to live with the criticism that is coming."

BVB slept through the first half in particular. Even if the second 45 minutes were a little better, the deficit that developed early on could no longer be compensated.

"We didn't support each other enough, especially in the first half, our freewheeling behavior and our positional play were not good, we hardly asked for balls in relevant areas," Kehl was able to list various points of criticism. The occupation of the penalty area was also "insufficient".

Remarkable: No team from the top half of the table has lost as many games and at the same time scored as few goals as black and yellow.

This is also noticeable in the form curve, which "does not point straight up", as Kehl put it. Only two wins have come from the last eight games.

The 42-year-old was therefore also a bit at a loss: "We had an emotional game against Bayern, we were also good in Seville, and to be honest that was all just a few days ago. But then there are always games like this one Sunday."

He didn't want to look for an excuse given the high level of stress, which will continue for the next few weeks. After all, it is “high for many teams”. She didn't fit for the game against Berlin anyway: "Union only played on Thursday, we had two more days off and yet they invested more for a long time."

That's why there was an in-depth analysis for the team on Monday morning. According to the Ruhr Nachrichten, there were "clear words and sharp criticism". No wonder, since the performance was "far too little" in all respects, according to Kehl. That's what the players would have heard too.

The need for the best possible progression in the DFB Cup on Wednesday evening when it comes to Hannover 96 has logically increased - also for the atmosphere.

This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as a Kehl announcement for the BVB slackers: "Not our claim".