Niko Kovač: "The referee destroyed the game with his decisions today!" | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač expressed his disappointment after his team’s 2–1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Klassiker, highlighting the contrast between the two halves and voicing concerns over key moments in the match.

“We are disappointed with the result and the first half,” Kovač said. “The second half was better. We weren’t good enough in the first half, but we fought hard in the second, which was good, but it wasn’t quite enough.”

Kovač explained Dortmund’s tactical approach and the difficulties they faced against Bayern’s attacking setup. “We wanted to stay compact and make targeted runs. Harry Kane was a problem for us; he played almost like a defensive midfielder. We didn’t manage to get through better in the middle because there were always too many Bayern players around them. We handled that better in the second half.”

On one particularly unlucky moment leading to Bayern's second goal, Kovač commented on Jobe Bellingham’s clearance: “It was unfortunate; he couldn’t have done much differently. Olise made a great tackle there to score.”

Kovač also criticized some of the referee’s decisions, particularly regarding Bayern’s first goal. “Given the line the referee took today, he should have disallowed Bayern’s first goal. He was too nitpicky today; Harry Kane wouldn’t have been awarded half of all the fouls today in the Premier League. I told the referee that too. The yellow card against me is okay. I told him that my first half wasn’t good, but that his whole game wasn’t good either. Now I’m sure I’ll get trouble and criticism for my comments again, but it has to be said. He was just too nitpicky today, and that ruined the game a bit.”

Kovač’s remarks underline his frustration with Bayern’s dominance in the first half, the challenges posed by key players like Kane, and controversial refereeing decisions that he believes influenced the flow of the Klassiker.