Borussia Dortmund continues slump, hands Bayern Munich an APB for the Bundesliga lead

Even hampered by injuries, Borussia Dortmund expected to exit Monday with all three points.

That’s not how it went. That’s not how it’s been going for weeks now.

Dortmund drew last-place Nürnberg 0-0 in a dull affair in Nuremberg, and the Bundesliga leaders are now just three points ahead of Bayern Munich in the table.

Talismanic striker Marco Reus missed his fourth straight match with a muscle injury, while United States star Christian Pulisic also didn’t play after suffering a thigh injury in the Champions League last week. Dortmund is not short on attacking options, but the attacking quartet of Mario Gotze up top, Maximilian Philipp tucked behind and wingers Jadon Sancho and Raphael Guerreiro – who have all but replaced Pulisic as the first-choice players out wide – couldn’t muster a goal on 17 shots, including six on target.

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It’s the third straight draw in the Bundesliga for Dortmund, which has opened the door for Bayern to climb back into the title race despite a poor start to the season. Dortmund led its Der Klassiker rival by nine points at the close of November, but a loss coupled with a Bayern win would see both teams level on points atop the table.

Moreover, Dortmund bowed out of the German Cup on penalties against Werder Bremen earlier this month, and got torn to shreds in the second half of a 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League last week. The club still hasn’t won since beating lowly Hannover 96 in late January.

Dortmund gave itself plenty of leeway by winning 12 of its first 15 Bundesliga matches in the summer and fall. That leeway is almost gone, and the wins need to start returning quickly.

Joey Gulino is the editor of Yahoo Soccer and moonlights as a writer. Follow him on Twitter at @JGulinoYahoo.

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