Borussia Dortmund boss Niko Kovač backs Nico Schlotterbeck broadside before Bundesliga trip to Freiburg

Nico Schlotterbeck did not pull any punches in the aftermath of Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League draw with Bodo Glimt, and little wonder.

Twice the Germany international had watched Julian Brandt give Dortmund the lead; twice he had looked on in horror as defensive lapses paved the way for the Norwegian minnows to equalise. The only consolation lay in the knowledge that, but for goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who turned an early effort from Kasper Høgh on to the post before acrobatically saving team-mate Daniel Svensson from the embarrassment of a late own goal, it could have been an awful lot worse. 

What Nico Schlotterbeck said about Dortmund’s ‘sloppy’ play

“After going 1-0 up, we started playing extremely sloppy and having incredibly bad first touches,” said Schlotterbeck. “A winner’s mentality means killing the game off. We didn’t manage to do that at all. We want to play beautifully, but that’s not enough. Killing the game is a matter of quality.”

The result means Dortmund slip from sixth in the league phase standings to 10th, a point shy of the eight automatic qualifying places for the last 16, with their hopes of avoiding a two-legged playoff now resting on the outcome of their final two games away to Tottenham and at home against Inter Milan.

“We could have gone up to 13 points,” lamented Schlotterbeck, who was linked with Liverpool earlier in the season, before calling out team-mates. “The players who come on lose every ball. If you come on in the 60th minute, I expect 30 minutes of full throttle.

“After their second goal, we didn’t have any more chances to score. We played incredibly sloppy in the last quarter of an hour. That’s not good enough in a home game. Now you have to win both games, otherwise you won’t be in the top eight.”

It was a scathing assessment, but one that Dortmund manager Niko Kovač endorsed as he looked ahead to Sunday’s Bundesliga trip to Freiburg.

Dortmund boss Niko Kovač: ‘I understand Schlotterbeck’s frustration’

“I understand Schlotti’s frustration,” said Kovač. “We let a huge opportunity slip away. It’s perfectly normal that, as a leader, he’s upset. There’s nothing more to add.”

It did not help that defenders Waldemar Anton and Aaron Anselmino both went off with injuries. While Kovač said both players were undergoing tests, he is nonetheless expecting a reaction from his third-placed Dortmund side at the weekend.

“Playing in Freiburg isn’t easy,” said Kovač. “We’re expecting a team that’s dangerous on set pieces; we have to be extremely careful. We need to show a reaction after [the Bodo Glimt] game. That’s what I expect from my team.”