Nuri Sahin refuses to blame substitutions for Borussia Dortmund collapse against Real Madrid

Nuri Sahin does not believe that his substitutions were behind Borussia Dortmund's dramatic second-half collapse against Real Madrid.

Borussia Dortmund were handed a 5-2 defeat by Real Madrid on Tuesday with Vinicius Junior scoring a hat-trick. The Black and Yellows were holding a two-goal lead going into the second-half, but failed to hold on against the world-class Real Madrid attack.

After the game, many criticised the substitutions made by Nuri Sahin, who completely changed the team's approach in the second-half with Waldemar Anton coming on for the in-form Jamie Gittens. The BVB players didn't look comfortable in the back three, and seven minutes later, Real Madrid had overturned a two-goal deficit.

Substitutions not to blame for Real Madrid defeat - Nuri Sahin

Sahin then decided to bring on Emre Can and Pascal Groß, who also failed to make the desired impact. Borussia Dortmund completely folded late on, with Real Madrid scoring three goals in the final ten minutes to claim the three points.

But Sahin refused to put the blame for the defeat on his substitutions and explained why he made those changes. "With the substitution of Waldemar Anton, we wanted to close the gaps," Sahin told Amazon Prime Video after the game. "But we conceded two goals in two minutes and allowed ourselves to be pushed in behind too much."

"I don't think it was the change of system or the substitutions, but the fact that we lost control and didn't press high up the pitch. If you lose and concede five goals, you can of course say that the change of system wasn't right. Before the 3-2, we had the chance ourselves, and the other two goals we conceded were madness."

Borussia Dortmund have started their UEFA Champions League campaign with two wins and one defeat. Next up for them in the league phase is a home game against SK Sturm Graz in two weeks' time.