Disjointed Dortmund punished by cellar-dweller Darmstadt

Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 loss at SV Darmstadt 98 has cast Thomas Tuchel's lot 15 points adrift of league leader Bayern Munich, narrowing its domestic focus to its DFB-Pokal campaign.

Saturday's match was a dour showing by the illustrious visitor, with Marco Reus hauled off on 77 minutes after an ineffectual outing and goalkeeper Roman Burki's performance being the only one deserving of some credit.

Darmstadt, seemingly destined for the drop with seven points still between it and safety, scored as many goals as it had in the previous nine matches, and Antonio-Mirko Colak's 67th-minute winner capped off a move of real swagger from the bottom-placed side.

The victory allowed Torsten Frings to check off his first professional win as a manager on the senior stage. He took over the struggling Hesse outfit Dec. 27, 2016.

Dortmund now turns its attention to the Champions League, where it travels to Benfica for the first leg of their last-16 meeting. The Portuguese giant has been much more convincing than its Tuesday guest lately, winning each of its last Primeira Liga outings by a 3-0 scoreline.