Michael Zorc: Borussia Dortmund not as far along yet as we believed after Köln defeat

Michael Zorc pulled no punches in his assessment of Borussia Dortmund’s shock 2-1 defeat to FC Köln.

Two almost identical goals from Ellyes Skhiri handed Borussia Dortmund their third defeat of the season in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The Black and Yellows were far from their best against FC Köln, as they seemed to be lacking the intensity and desire that we had seen in recent games. And Michael Zorc said after the game that the defeat to the Billy Goats is a ‘bitter setback’ for the Black and Yellows.

"“In many areas we did not perform as well as we had done in the past weeks,” Zorc said (H/T: WAZ). “We were not able to get our attacking players, especially our wide players, into dangerous situations. That’s why we were unable to put much pressure on Köln.”"

Zorc was not happy with Borussia Dortmund’s performance in the shock defeat to Köln. He felt that the team did not perform as well as they had in recent weeks, and perhaps Der BVB aren’t as far along in their development as they had believed.

"“That’s just the way it is with us. We are obviously not yet as far along as we had hoped – and as we ourselves believed. Maybe we couldn’t handle the praise (from the media) that well.”"

For Borussia Dortmund, attentions will now quickly turn to Wednesday’s Champions League game against Lazio, where a point will be enough to secure a place in the round of 16. And the Borussia Dortmund sporting director believes it is imperative that Dortmund return to winning ways against the Italian side.

Head coach Lucien Favre was also very disappointed with the team’s performance against FC Köln on Saturday. He bemoaned his team’s lack of patience and movement.

"“I am very disappointed. Cologne was very well organized. They waited and we lost our patience a bit. Sometimes we played in a hurry, but our passes should have been faster. The right movement was also missing.”"

The defeat saw Borussia Dortmund slip to third place in the Bundesliga table, and they could end the weekend in fourth if Bayer Leverkusen beat Hertha Berlin on Sunday. Their next Bundesliga game will see them face a tricky trip to Eintracht Frankfurt, who have drawn each of their last four games.