Kovac delighted about Schlotterbeck comeback and a strong team performance | OneFootball

It's a long time ago now. With Peter Bosz as head coach, the Black & Yellows kicked off the 2017/18 season with three wins (in Wolfsburg, at home to Hertha and Köln) and a draw (in Freiburg), not conceding a single goal in the process. Yesterday, Sunday, the team secured a third consecutive clean sheet in the Bundesliga with a narrow but deserved 1-0 home win against VfL Wolfsburg, following victories over Heidenheim (2-0) and Union Berlin (3-0).

“I'm very happy with the team's performance,” said Niko Kovac at the press conference: “We managed to bring energy into the game immediately after a Champions League match. Through counter-pressing, we fought to win the ball (before the 1-0, ed.), took advantage of the opponent's disorganisation, and finished with precision. We controlled the game for 90 minutes, although Wolfsburg also made a very, very good impression. But we didn't allow them anything.”

The defense, organised by the returning Nico Schlotterbeck, only came under real pressure once, when Wolfsburg's Koulierakis slammed the ball against the underside of the crossbar after a free kick. Goal-line technology did not fully identify the ball as having crossed the line – and even if it had, the goal would probably have been disallowed. “In my view, the situation with the crossbar was offside, perhaps even twice,” said Kovac. Amoura, who headed Arnold's cross across the goal, was probably just offside when the ball was played; Koulierakis definitely was.

“We worked hard for this victory, fought for it and earned it,” said Kovac. “What also makes me happy, of course, is the fact that Schlotti is back and was able to play the full 90 minutes after such a long injury lay-off. You can see how important he is in stabilising this defence.” For the third league match in a row, his team kept a clean sheet: “When we are very compact at the back, it is really difficult to play against us.”

Kovac is now hoping for more players to return. Against Wolfsburg, three defenders were still unavailable: Aaron Anselmino (muscle problems), Emre Can (adductor problems) and Niklas Süle (muscle injury), not to mention Julien Duranville (shoulder injury) and Fabio Silva (adductor problems).

And Karim Adeyemi is becoming an increasingly important presence. He is working hard without the ball, and he is making the right decisions in the final third. The 23-year-old had the most shots on goal, made the most sprints (29) and scored the only goal of the evening with a ferocious 126 km/h shot. He has now been involved in four goals in the last three competitive matches (two goals, two assists) . In the words of sporting director Sebastian Kehl: “Karim seems more assertive to me, more robust in tackles. And he's very hungry for goals. He exudes a relaxed yet professional energy, not to mention a winner's mentality. Right now, he's probably the best version of Karim Adeyemi we've seen here at Borussia Dortmund to date."

Let’s hope it continues like this. For Adeyemi in particular, and for Borussia in general.Boris Rupert