Sebastian Kehl speaks out: "We deserved to lose" | OneFootball

Sebastian Kehl (45) doesn’t mince words. “ManCity was clearly the better team,” summarizes Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director after the 1:4 defeat in the Champions League. Due to the thrashing in Manchester, BVB drops out of the top eight.

The best eight teams in the “Champions League” qualify directly for the round of 16. Teams ranked 9 to 24 must first play a play-off. “In such a tight table situation, goal difference can mean places,” Kehl complains in a club interview about the Skyblues’ fourth goal by Rayan Cherki (22) in stoppage time. The 2:4 in the 90th minute by FC Copenhagen on matchday three is also still a source of annoyance for the former BVB captain weeks later. With seven points, the Black and Yellows are in 14th place in the CL table after half of the eight rounds.

Emre Can is available again after a months-long injury break. The 31-year-old team captain “had a lot of energy after coming on in the 66th minute, was immediately involved in many duels, and tried to push the team forward again,” Kehl praises the returnee. “Of course, it’s clear that after such a long time, not everything can be perfect. But we’re happy that Emre is back.”

Praise for the Substitutes

At the Etihad Stadium, BVB “started quite well,” analyzes the sporting director. In the first 15 minutes, the visitors controlled the game. But then the Cityzens grew stronger and dominated Borussia. After an hour, the scoreboard showed a clear 3:0. Borussia couldn’t cope with the clever switches by the English side to the wide positions, Kehl says. “Overall, we were too passive afterwards, especially when conceding the goals,” he notes, emphasizing: “We deserved to lose.”

The quadruple substitution in the 66th minute brought fresh momentum to the Black and Yellow engine. “All the guys who came on tried to turn the game around a bit, and we had the chance to make it 2:3,” the 45-year-old praises his team, but also says: “To be fair – and I know this from my own experience – City eased off a bit because the game was basically decided for them.”

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