Borussia Dortmund star Daniel Svensson bemoaned their latest defeat to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga as their title hopes were officially over.
Two penalties from Andrej Kramaric, including a second one in the eighth added minute, resulted in a 2-1 loss to the BVB, who had won on their previous five visits to Hoffenheim.
Svensson reflected on the loss, saying it was a bitter pill to swallow for having lost on penalties, but admitted that his side weren't up to scratch on the day either.
"“Another bitter defeat. Of course, it’s tough to lose because of two penalties. But that wasn’t exactly our best performance either – not the way we’re supposed to play. And then, naturally, it’s hard to win games like that when we’re up against strong opponents.""said the Swede in his post-match comment
A handball from Niklas Sule gave Hoffenheim a chance to break the deadlock from the penalty spot and Kramaric made no mistake, firing it beyond Gregor Kober's dive.
Substitute Serhou Guirassy made it 1-1 in the 87th minute with a fabulous strike from range before Kramaric converted another penalty in stoppage-time after Julian Ryerson's handball.
Having lost 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen on the previous matchday, Dortmund were looking to make a comeback here but slipped up following a dismal performance.
Just like in the Leverkusen clash, the BVB were desperately short on attacking firepower while looking fragile in defense.
Svensson further added that Dortmund must play with more intensity going forward instead of showing up in bits and flashes.
""We need to play with more intensity and get things moving more. When we play like that, we’re really good and a very difficult opponent to beat. We need to do that throughout the whole match – not just for one half or 30 minutes.”"added the defender
Bayern are champions
Dortmund's second loss in a row preponed Bayern Munich's title march by two games. They only needed a draw against Stuttgart on Sunday but clinched the Meisterschale in style after thumping Die Roten 4-2 at the Allianz Arena.
Just a week before the Der Klassiker on 28 February, Dortmund were only six points behind the Bavarians as their title ambitions were very much on. But a draw to Leipzig followed by a home loss to Bayern almost ended it.
Bayern's surprise draw to Leverkusen gave Dortmund another silver lining, but back-to-back losses now put the final nail in their coffin.
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