Marco Rose praises mentality but sees room for improvement after 4-3 win over Leverkusen

Marco Rose was pleased with the mentality Borussia Dortmund showed in their come from behind 4-3 win over Bayer Leverkusen. But he also saw the need for improvement in defence.

Borussia Dortmund came from behind three times before beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-3 in a thrilling Bundesliga clash on Saturday. Erling Haaland, Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro were all on the scoresheet for the Black and Yellows in a game that also highlighted their defensive weaknesses.

Marco Rose was pleased to celebrate his 45th birthday with the three points, but also said that they are conceding too many goals at the moment.

"“The most important thing is the three points,” Rose said at his post-match press conference. “It was a very wild game, a spectacle certainly for all the spectators. But from a coach’s point of view, you wish many things were different. We conceded too many goals again. We didn’t allow too many shots, but the quality of the chances was too high.”“If you still manage to win 4-3 in Leverkusen, it speaks for the team, for the offensive quality and mentality. And that’s why we’re going home happy. But we also know we still have a few things to work on.”"

Marco Reus echoed his coach’s statements and said that Borussia Dortmund cannot afford to keep gifting goals to the opposition like they did against Bayer Leverkusen.

"“It was a wild 90 minutes and we didn’t imagine it to be like that,” Reus told Sky. “There were a lot of ups and downs. We weren’t compact enough and conceded easy goals. We showed good spirit in the end, but we cannot allow this to happen for the rest of the season.”"

While Borussia Dortmund lead the Bundesliga in terms of goals scored, they have conceded nine times in their opening four league matches. Only two teams (Greuther Fürth and Hertha Berlin) have conceded more goals than BVB in the Bundesliga so far this season.

Borussia Dortmund’s defensive woes also have a lot to do with the many injuries they have had to deal with so far. And the hope will be that Mats Hummels‘ return from his patellar tendon injury will bring some defensive stability to the team in the coming weeks. Hummels came off the bench in the 84th minute against Bayer Leverkusen.

Borussia Dortmund will be aiming to deliver a much improved defensive performance on Wednesday as they make the trip to Turkey to face Besiktas JK in their UEFA Champions League group stage opener.