Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac has lamented his side's poor performance in the 1-0 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach, for whom he reserved some high praise too.
With confidence restored after 4-0 loss to Freiburg, the BVB were expected to win against a struggling Foals side but instead turned in an anaemic display and were made to pay for it.
Kovac, who has come under pressure now following a visible dip in their form over the last three weeks, admitted that the hosts of the night were the better side.
"“Gladbach were sharp, they were aggressive, they were tenacious. And when you go into a game like that and win the 50-50 balls, especially going forward, you gain momentum. You could see that there was a lot at stake for them and not so much for us, apparently.""said the Croatian
Just six points off relegation after five winless games, Gladbach were desperately searching for a win here to secure top-flight survival and pulled it off on the back of a rather commanding display.
Although the first 20 minutes were cagey, the Foals sprung to life soon after, Nico Elvedi even had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside. Haris Tabkovic, who eventually struck the winner, also made a fine finish which was alveit saved by Gregor Kobel.
Gladbach were visibly growing into the match and Dortmund needed to up the ante after the break, which they appeared to as they won a couple of free-kicks and throw-in through they sought to put pressure on the hosts.
In the final few minutes, Rocco Reitz missed two chances, but then created Tabakovic's goal late on. He found significant gap in the Dortmund backline and made a throughball for the former to chase and bury it home.
Although it was originally ruled out for offside, the goal was awarded following a VAR review. Kovac reflected back on the match saying the Foals defended with all their might, never letting Dortmund enjoy too much time or space on the ball.
""It wasn’t a good performance today, and that’s why we lost. Gladbach defended sharply and intensely one-on-one across the whole pitch, closing us down on every touch. That was a crucial factor. In a game like this, you have to hold your own physically first and foremost. We know we can do better.”"added the Dortmund manager
The loss kept Dortmund on 67 points from 32 games in second place of the Bundesliga table.
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