Kovač explains Guirassy’s bench spot against Eintracht Frankfurt

Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač has explained why Serhou Guirassy started on the bench against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Notably, Serhou Guirassy was left out of Borussia Dortmund’s starting eleven when they faced Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Guinea international was brought on in the 77th minute, and the game eventually went into extra time, with Dortmund prevailing in a penalty shootout.

Speaking after the match, BVB coach Niko Kovač explained that he wanted to manage his star striker’s workload ahead of upcoming fixtures against Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Friday and Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday.

“I just thought that after so many games, he needed a break. I knew the timing might not be ideal, especially since Eintracht are really strong, but as a coach, you sometimes have to take a certain risk,” Kovač said at a press conference after the game.

“Actually, it wasn’t a risk at all because Maxi Beier did really well,” he added. 

“This way, we managed to limit Serhou to 40–50 minutes instead of 120. In the coming days, we have the Bundesliga on Friday, then the Champions League, and afterwards a match at HSV.

“We have to be careful and make sure everyone stays healthy. At the moment, everyone is fit, and we want to keep it that way,” the BVB coach added.