Niko Kovac mentioned his Borussia Dortmund gamers should dig deep to spice up their confidence forward of their Champions League play-off second leg in opposition to Sporting CP.
Kovac watched on as Dortmund had been overwhelmed by lowly Bochum 2-0 within the Bundesliga on Saturday, leaving them languishing in eleventh place within the German top-flight.
However Kovac, who changed Nuri Sahin as BVB’s coach earlier this month, notched the primary victory of his tenure in a 3-0 win over Sporting within the first leg of their play-off tie.
Dortmund’s win within the first leg was the twelfth time they’ve gained the primary leg of a significant European knockout stage tie away from house, progressing in every of the final 11.
They’ve additionally gained 4 of their 5 conferences with Sporting in all competitions (L1), with each of their earlier house video games in opposition to them ending 1-0.
Dortmund have solely misplaced one among their final 15 house matches within the Champions League (W10 D4), with that lone defeat coming to Barcelona in December (2-3).
The German aspect have additionally netted 33 objectives throughout these 15 matches, at a median of two.2 per outing, however Kovac mentioned previous outcomes are a distant reminiscence for his aspect.
“I’m a soccer coach, and it’s not the top of this play-off, simply the primary half,” Kovac instructed a press convention on Tuesday, forward of the second leg for a spot within the final 16.
“As coach you must attempt to give the gamers that self-confidence.
“By means of good coaching, good matches, by means of wins. As a coach, I see the outcomes but additionally the great issues that we do. Now we have to multiply these in matches,” he added.
“These gamers are gamers of top quality, however in the mean time the top is the important thing issue.”
#BVBSCP ladt… #UCL pic.twitter.com/jmLoCK92GZ
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) February 18, 2025
Dortmund’s struggles within the Bundesliga this season have seen them drop eight factors adrift of the ultimate Champions League qualifying spot within the German top-flight.
Certainly, lots of their failures have come from their very own doing, with Niklas Sule’s weak backpass gifting Giorgos Masouras Bochum’s second objective of their final Bundesliga defeat, which has been a narrative of their marketing campaign to date.
Within the Bundesliga this season, solely Bochum, RB Leipzig (each seven), Eintracht Frankfurt and Holstein Kiel (each eight) have made extra errors resulting in objectives than Dortmund (5).
“3 times up to now matches we allowed our opponents to run alone in the direction of objective. Now we have to minimise these issues,” Kovac mentioned.
“It’s about enjoyable the top, resetting it,” he added. “What helps is coaching, success in coaching and most of all, wins.
“We aren’t silly to say that this tie is finished. Now we have to play as intensely as we are able to. We are able to’t say we play solely 50%, not within the Champions League.”
