Kehl and Kovač were all honest in their post-match quotes

FanSided World Football

·16 de marzo de 2025

Kehl and Kovač were all honest in their post-match quotes

Borussia Dortmund summed up another Bundesliga defeat this season following an agonizing loss to Leipzig. The Bulls beat the Black-and-Yellows in a match marked by critical defensive mistakes and missed opportunities from BVB. After the match was over, Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovač was straightforward about his opinion of the result:

"This is a catastrophe and not the standard I set for myself."Niko Kovač

Despite a below-average first half, where the Bulls dominated in terms of possession and chance creation, BVB's second half was a tremendous upgrade, even with Openda's early header to make it two to the homeowners. The Black-and-Yellows had a 3.06xG in this match and no goals scored, as the Croatian manager also commented on his team's wasted chances to score and make a comeback from Leipzig's 2-nil lead:

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"It is unbelievable. I cannot explain it either. The ball just would not go in today. The fact is we did not score the goals and left the pitch as unfortunate losers today. We had to score at least three or four goals."Niko Kovač

Kovač was not only disappointed about the lack of goals, but his record as a BVB manager in the league has been nothing but lackluster. Dortmund has now more defeats than wins in the current Bundesliga season, while Kovač has lost four and won two matches against sides like Union Berlin, and St. Pauli:

"The record is a disaster that has to be said quite clearly. So that is not my own ambition. We have to win games first; that is what it is all about. We cannot talk about the others playing for us."Niko Kovač

Even with the poor league record, Niko Kovač tried to find the positives from yesterday's 2-nil loss to Leipzig, mainly highlighting the team's effort in the second half:

"I still think today was a good performance, especially in the second half, after the difficult game in Lille. We did a comeback in the Champions League, but we did not manage that in the Bundesliga."Niko Kovač

How did Kovač find ways to pay compliments to a defeat like that? It is a little hard to explain, mainly because the team was depending too much on long balls and individual plays to create chances against Leipzig. On a different note, BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl had his own thoughts on the overall performance:

"I do not know if we were clearly inferior in the first half, but we did not play a good game. The second half was really, really good in terms of the way we played, our football, our fighting spirit, and our running."Sebastian Kehl

A more self-conscious perspective from Leipzig's matchup indeed, but it still lacks some explicit criticism of the team's management this season and the current standards the club has put itself at. Following this weekend, BVB will have the international break to regroup, which apparently is not Kehl's primary wish at the moment:

"We will then try to get everyone back together relatively quickly in the second week of the national team and then prepare for the home game against Mainz. But to be honest, I would prefer us to keep playing because I have the feeling that we are continuing to improve in many areas."Sebastian Kehl

I am unaware of what exactly Kehl is referring to when he says the team is "continuing to improve in many areas." Still, Borussia Dortmund will have a boom-or-bust type of weeks after the break, where the Black-and-Yellows will play Freiburg and Bayern Münich away and FC Barcelona twice for the Champions League quarterfinals. A couple of weeks that could potentially put an end to any aspirations for European football next season, and mercifully finishing a 2024/2025 season that seemed to be destined for failure.