Kovac reacts to Dortmund’s loss to Real Madrid: “We lost the game in the first half”

Niko Kovac felt his Borussia Dortmund side made life difficult for themselves with a poor first-half showing against Real Madrid.

Borussia Dortmund are out of the Club World Cup after a 2-3 defeat to Real Madrid in the quarter-final.

The Black and Yellows made things difficult for themselves as they fell behind by two goals early on, and ultimately crashed out despite a ate comeback attempt.

“Football can be strange sometimes,” Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac told DAZN when asked to share his thoughts on the game.

“I don’t think we played well in the first half – we were too passive, just waiting and not aggressive enough. It was a bit better after the break.”

At the end, Marcel Sabitzer nearly equalised to send the game into extra time, but he was stopped by a fantastic save from Thibaut Courtois. 

“That final save was unbelievable – I really thought that shot would go in, but this is a world-class goalkeeper,” said Kovac.

“We lost the game in the first half, not the second.”

Despite the defeat, Kovac believes Dortmund have every reason to be satisfied with their Club World Cup run.

“Overall, we achieved more than we expected. Losing to a world-class team like Real Madrid in the quarter-finals is not a problem. Now we’ll go on holiday for two-three weeks, start the engines again, and try to perform in the Bundesliga.”