After win in Leverkusen: BVB keeper Kobel hits back at criticism | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund wins in Leverkusen – but goalkeeper Gregor Kobel then has to defend himself against accusations of time-wasting. The BVB keeper finds clear words and is already looking ahead to the next duel.

After Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 victory in the top match against Bayer Leverkusen, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was not only satisfied with his team’s performance – he also took the opportunity to address recent accusations of alleged time-wasting in no uncertain terms.

From a sporting perspective, the evening was a success for BVB: thanks to goals from Aaron Anselmino and Karim Adeyemi, Dortmund took a 2-0 lead before Leverkusen’s Christian Kofane pulled one back in the second half. Despite late pressure from the league leaders, coach Niko Kovac’s team held on to the win and climbed back up to third place.

After the final whistle, Kobel praised the team’s development: “We played very well in most phases of the game. Leverkusen is a very strong team. But we also played very well today.” He particularly emphasized that this time BVB managed to hold on to their lead with focus until the end.

At the same time, another topic was on the goalkeeper’s mind: the accusation that he had deliberately wasted time. The discussion flared up again after Kobel repeatedly waited to take goal kicks and Leverkusen reacted impatiently.

BVB to face Leverkusen again in the DFB-Pokal

The Swiss sharply rejected the criticism. “That really has nothing at all to do with time-wasting,” he told RUHR24. He explained that the opposing players often entered the penalty area too early: “It’s their fault if they keep running in early every time, you’re not allowed to do that.”

The BVB keeper stressed that he needed the seconds to decide whether to play short or long. The yellow card for time-wasting in the match in Augsburg still annoys him to this day – nevertheless, Kobel believes a certain cleverness is necessary: “I think you have to be a little bit ‘nasty’. That’s part of football.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming DFB-Pokal round of 16 on Tuesday against Leverkusen, Kobel expects an intense duel. What will be decisive is to once again play with determination: “It’s important that we build up good energy with the fans, absorb it, let it carry us a bit, and then continue where we left off today.”

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