Gregor Kobel self-critical: "I simply have to deal with that, no excuses" | OneFootball

When in the fourth minute of stoppage time, with the score at 3-1 for Atalanta Bergamo, everything pointed to an extension where Borussia Dortmund would have had every chance of advancing to the Champions League round of 16, Gregor Kobel made a major passing error, which resulted in a penalty a few seconds later. Leon Samardzic then converted it to the decisive 4-1 for the Italians. After the match, the BVB goalkeeper did not even attempt to downplay his mistake.

"That was my mistake, and I'm really sorry for my guys because I believe we had a good comeback, were actually back in the game, and then it ended like this," Kobel admitted frankly and explained how he came to make his fatal decision to play a short pass that ultimately landed with Bergamo's Mario Pasalic: "It was a fraction of a second. I wanted to clear the ball first, then it wasn't positioned right. I tried to find a solution. If the ball isn't positioned cleanly, you switch to plan B."

Kobel, who in recent days has been linked with Real Madrid by the portal Les Transferts, quickly showed his fighting spirit again and is already looking forward to the duel with FC Bayern Munich on Saturday: "Now it's about wiping your mouth, moving on, and being there for the team, so we all quickly regroup and are ready for the weekend. What's done is done."

No Blame from the Team

From his colleagues, Kobel was spared public criticism. Instead, captain Emre Can was quick to support the goalkeeper and boost his morale: "How often has Gregor helped and saved us this season? How he pulled off another save in the first half, that's incredible. I feel sorry for him! As I said: no blame, absolutely no blame. It all came together."

Photo: IMAGO

Coach Niko Kovac remained general in his statement but certainly had the other goals conceded in mind: "In the Champions League, such mistakes are punished, and therefore we are very disappointed and accordingly quite downcast," said the BVB coach, who will certainly contribute internally to ensuring that Kobel & Co. still go into the Bundesliga top match with confidence.

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