Reaction to the 2-0 in Stuttgart: “Won with a bit of luck” | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund won 2-0 away at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday evening and in doing so took a very big step toward finishing as runners-up. With an eleven-point lead over third place, BVB are now hardly likely to be knocked off second spot. The mood after the win in Swabia was correspondingly upbeat, even though the match itself was analyzed quite honestly beforehand.

“Stuttgart pushed us very deep. In the 90th minute, we took the two chances we had and won with a bit of luck,” Nico Schlotterbeck said of the top clash, though he also stressed that a victory achieved in this way was by no means a coincidence: “It’s been like this all season, that we play with mentality. We kept another clean sheet, and in Stuttgart too, where hardly any other teams have managed that.”

Gregor Kobel spoke in a similar vein on the club website, saying BVB were “not good on the ball” before the break and describing the 0-0 after 45 minutes as the most positive aspect. But in the second half, the goalkeeper saw “a more balanced game” and, not for the first time, special qualities in Borussia: “Over the whole season, it’s the defensive performance that carries us, that defines us, that is the foundation of the whole team. And the two goals at the end really did us a lot of good.”

Book praises Kovac

Niko Kovac did not really want to disagree with his players: “It wasn’t easy in the first half. We didn’t get into the challenges. And if you can’t get into challenges and don’t win the second balls either, then you won’t have possession. When we did have it, the ball was gone immediately,” the BVB coach initially criticized, before then welcoming the improvement: “In the second half, we defended much better and waited for our chance. Our last two actions then helped ensure it had a good ending for us.”

Photo: IMAGO

For Ole Book, the 2-0 in Stuttgart was his first win in his first game with BVB: “The result was exactly what we wanted. We all saw the league table situation and we’re very happy with it,” said the new sporting director, who also highlighted the improvement after the break, including praise for the coach: “In the second half, we put in a better performance — also after the coach’s tactical adjustments and substitutions. That’s why we’re delighted with the win, with two very nice goals that were created through individual quality. That too is part of being a good Bundesliga team.”

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