Dortmund slumps to another loss; Bayern 'winter champion'
BERLIN (AP) - Borussia Dortmund fans were left wondering how much longer Peter Bosz can remain as coach after losing at home to Werder Bremen 2-1 on Saturday, the team's eighth straight Bundesliga game without a win.
Dortmund, which previously led the league after a brilliant start, hasn't won in the Bundesliga since September, and defeat to relegation-threatened Bremen was the side's 10th game without a win in any competition.
Bosz has only one win in his last 13 games across all competitions.
"A performance like today's is unacceptable," said Dortmund captain Marcel Schmelzer, who declined to comment on Bosz remaining as coach. "I'm not the right person to talk about that. We can talk about how we players performed - it was crap. It was an insult from the players."
Bremen made the better start with chances falling to Max Kruse and Zlatko Junuzovic before Maximilian Eggestein struck home in the 26th minute.
Kruse found the German Under-21 midfielder on the edge of the penalty area, where Eggestein eluded a Dortmund defender and let fly inside the far post.
Dortmund was struggling to create an attacking threat with moves breaking down amid apparent uncertainty, much to home fans' frustration.
They whistled their side off at the break, prompting Bosz to make two substitutions.
Shinji Kagawa drew a save from Jiri Pavlenka shortly after, signaling a change in attitude from the home side, which duly equalized before the hour mark with an own-goal from Philipp Bargfrede under pressure from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But Theodor Gebre Selassie put Bremen back in front minutes later when he was left free to convert a cross from Florian Kainz.
Dortmund, which previously led Bayern Munich by five points, is 13 points behind the league leader.
WINTER CHAMPION
Arturo Vidal's first-half goal was enough for Bayern to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 and claim the unofficial title of "winter champion" for the seventh straight year.
Second-place Leipzig was held at home by Mainz to 2-2.
Eintracht made a bright start but Vidal broke the deadlock with a header off Joshua Kimmich's fine cross to the far post after a corner was only half-cleared in the 20th.
It was the fourth consecutive league game in which Vidal scored, confirming his improved impact since Jupp Heynckes returned as coach. Heynckes, who previously coached Vidal at Bayer Leverkusen, had asked the Chile midfielder to improve his game.
But Vidal, who already had a yellow card, was fortunate not to be sent off when he took down Marius Wolf. Heynckes took him straight off.
Wolf was sent off with just under 20 minutes remaining for a challenge on James Rodriguez. Two minutes later, the Frankfurt midfielder returned after referee Harm Osmers consulted video replays and changed his mind. Osmers called Wolf back and showed him a yellow card.
Bayern stretched its lead after 15 rounds to eight points over Leipzig and nine points over Schalke, held at Borussia Moenchengladbach to 1-1 in the late game.
Hamburger SV was held at home by Wolfsburg to 0-0.