2-0 over Hoffenheim: "A massive win for us" | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund has bounced back well from the defeat suffered on Tuesday in the DFB-Pokal against Bayer Leverkusen (0:1) and deservedly defeated TSG Hoffenheim 2:0 at the conclusion of the 13th matchday. With their eighth win of the season, BVB, now in third place, already has a five-point lead over fourth place. Not least because of this, the mood among players and officials was very good on Sunday evening.

"It was an extremely important victory for us after being eliminated from the DFB-Pokal," stated Julian Brandt, who scored the opening goal and also noted a positive difference compared to previous seasons: "In recent years, we have been chasing victories before the winter break. Now it's good that we mostly win our matches, that we've only lost one game in the Bundesliga. That does us good and gives us confidence."

Nico Schlotterbeck, who scored the goal to make it 2:0, was happy and satisfied after a strenuous 90 minutes: "Hoffenheim played with brutal intensity, especially in the first half. It was a game on equal terms. We scored the 1:0, then the 2:0 from a set piece and played it out well until the end, allowing hardly anything. Today we had that little bit more luck and deserved to win," said the central defender, who saw the appropriate reaction to the cup exit and was also pleased with the other results: "That was extremely important after the defeat on Tuesday. It hurt a lot. I'm glad that the entire team played really well and rewarded themselves. Now we leave the weekend with a good feeling because we were able to gain points on the others."

Kovac and Kehl Satisfied

Coach Niko Kovac saw "nothing spectacular, but a deserved victory" and emphasized that his team, with disciplined play, ensured that Hoffenheim's game plan did not work out: "We kept a clean sheet, we won 2:0, missed two really good chances, and gave Hoffenheim nothing—I am very satisfied. We didn't let ourselves get drawn out as much as they might have expected, as was the case here at home against Leverkusen."

Sporting director Sebastian Kehl was pleased with the good response after the cup exit and praised a general development, but also reminded, like some BVB protagonists, that the year is not over yet and noted: "I believe the team is overall a step further and can also handle such issues as the defeat on Tuesday. We want to stay on it, be hungry, and win the next games as well."

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