“Winning is all that matters” – Emre Can pleased as Borussia Dortmund survive Pokal scare

Borussia Dortmund sealed their place in the final eight of the DFB Pokal with a 3-2 win over SC Paderborn. Despite racing to an early two goal lead thanks to strikes from Emre Can and Jadon Sancho, the Black and Yellows needed extra time to eliminate a determined Paderborn side. And Emre Can said after the game that winning is all that matters when it comes to cup competitions.

"“We performed really well early on. Then we dropped off a bit. Paderborn came out fighting after half-time, they performed really well. But it’s a cup tie and winning is all that matters and we managed that. Now we need to keep taking it one game at a time.”"

Thomas Delaney felt that Borussia Dortmund made things hard for themselves by allowing Paderborn get back into the game in the second.

"“I am totally knackered. I had cramps at the end which doesn’t normally happen to me. But that’s how it is sometimes; it was really tough and a bit unnecessary from our point of view. Paderborn had nothing to lose and gave it everything they had. Had we scored the third goal, then things would have been a bit more relaxed for us.”"

Paderborn angered by controversial offside call for Borussia Dortmund’s extra time winner

While Borussia Dortmund celebrated a hard-fought win, Paderborn head coach Steffen Baumgart was not happy with the VAR’s decision to let Erling Haaland’s extra time goal stand. The goal proved to be the winner, but Baumgart felt that it should have been ruled out for offside and the on-field referee should have gone to his monitor to take a look.

"“It annoys me, it annoys me for my boys, for our performance. Nobody deserves that, that’s how we make monkeys of ourselves.”“Respect also means looking at the shit and then making a decision. I know it’s a tricky situation but I expect him to go there and look at it, like he does in many other situations. That’s the only thing.”“For me it’s perfectly clear the ball doesn’t change its movement. The touch is not there, not there. And he won’t look? Please, we’re standing for 7 minutes freezing our asses off.”"

Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic did not expect Paderborn to be able to mount a comeback after watching his side take a 2-0 lead after just 16 minutes. But he felt that Der BVB invited the second division side back into the game.

"“We got off to a really good start. The change of system worked well. Then the game changed around the 30th minute. We got too narrow, didn’t move the ball quickly enough and didn’t find the spaces. As a result, we invited the opponent to press.”“The most important thing is that we managed to advance to the next round. Of course, after the early phase, we had imagined it to be a bit different: That it wouldn’t be quite so hectic, not quite so emotional, not quite so tight.”"

Terzic also spoke about the controversial decision in stoppage time which saw Borussia Dortmund’s third goal get chalked off, and Paderborn were awarded a penalty instead for a foul before the goal.

"“The penalty situation in injury time was a big sticking point that changed everything. We managed to make it 3-1 a couple of minutes later, we hear the news: Nah, there is a penalty against us.”"

There will be no rest for the Borussia Dortmund players with their next game right around the corner. Dortmund make the trip to SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.