After BVB shock in Hamburg: Kovac responds with clear words | OneFootball

Niko Kovac is frustrated after the late 1-1 draw in Hamburg due to his team's lack of composure. BVB misses the chance to capitalize on Bayern's slip and drops two crucial points.

Borussia Dortmund let a seemingly certain victory slip away with a 1-1 (0-0) draw at the Volksparkstadion against Hamburger SV – thus missing the opportunity to gain ground in the standings. In the seventh minute of injury time, HSV striker Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer scored the late equalizer, leaving BVB with disappointed faces.

Coach Niko Kovac made no secret of his frustration after the game: “I always say: No corners, no crosses, no free kicks, then there are no problems.” But his team failed to achieve just that. “In this case, we had a cross that we didn’t defend well. We need to play 2-on-2 on the outside, we can’t allow that,” explained Kovac. The coach also lamented his players' lack of decisiveness: “This often happens in football when you’re leading 1-0. You have to score the 2-0, then everything is calm.”

Emre Can criticizes BVB's lack of composure

Until Carney Chukwuemeka's leading goal in the 64th minute, Dortmund largely controlled the game. However, the team increasingly lost their grip afterward. Center-back Nico Schlotterbeck summed up the break in the game: “We hardly allowed anything. After the 1-0, we lost a bit of control. We need to play more football. We didn’t manage that at all in the end.”

Captain Emre Can, who returned to the starting lineup after a long injury break, also saw the cause of the late goal in the team's passive approach: “We need to defend crosses better and play better football in the minutes before. We need to be more composed, hold the ball more. We didn’t manage that.”

With the draw, BVB not only missed the chance to move up to second place in the standings but also the opportunity to close the gap on Bayern. Kovac’s conclusion was accordingly sober: One point in Hamburg – too little for a team with Dortmund's ambitions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.