Can and Kovac frustrated after Dortmund’s poor second-half showing against Lille

Emre Can and Niko Kovac were critical after Borussia Dortmund threw away a lead to draw with Lille.

Leading 1-0 at the break thanks to Karim Adeyemi’s impressive opener, Borussia Dortmund were heading for a good result in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Lille on Tuesday night.

However, Niko Kovac’s side were unable to maintain their momentum after the break and eventually had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

“It wasn’t a good game at all,” said captain Emre Can in a post-match interview.

The 31-year-old was particularly frustrated with his side’s second-half performance.

“There wasn’t enough intensity on the ball, we definitely need to play better,” he insisted.

“We were far too passive. We didn’t get to the point where it hurt. And you have to do that against them. We need to be better on the ball and be more courageous.

“We can and must do much better,” underlined Can.

Dortmund coach Niko Kovac was similarly disappointed with the second half.

“We had no grip in the second half. We didn’t shift the play enough, and we didn’t have enough phases where we calmed the game down. We gave the ball away too easily,” he said.

He went on to stress that it’s only “half time” in the tie and outlined the plan for next week’s return leg in France:

“We have to play like we did in the first half.”