FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - First Leg - Borussia Dortmund v Lille - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - March 4, 2025 Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac reacts REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo
LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund should have scored three or four goals in their 2-0 loss at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday, coach Niko Kovac said after his team slumped to defeat despite having 25 shots.
Xavi Simons and Lois Openda scored to give Leipzig a 2-0 lead but Dortmund did their best to fight their way back into the contest and had several chances to score in the second half.
A combination of poor finishing and some heroic goalkeeping from Peter Gulacsi thwarted Dortmund, who slipped to 11th place after the loss. The Ruhr valley side are on 35 points after 26 games, seven fewer than fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
"This is a catastrophe. And not the standard I set for myself," Kovac told Sky Sports.
"It's unbelievable. I can't explain it either. The ball just wouldn't go in today. The fact is: We didn't score the goals and left the pitch as unfortunate losers today. We have to score at least three or four goals."
Dortmund were Champions League finalists last season and have also made it to the quarter-finals this year, but their woeful domestic form has left their participation in the competition next season in question.
Midfielder Pascal Gross said Dortmund needed to be rational about their hopes of returning to Europe's biggest stage, adding: "We have to win games. It's slowly becoming unrealistic.
"First half was weak, second half we have to score the goals. We're in 11th place. I'm not going to say it now, 'We'll reach the Champions League'. You can always talk a lot. Today we didn't make it.
"It (performance) was extremely bad, because once again we have problems after the Champions League. That really annoys me. I think consistency is a huge quality in football. We're lacking that. We can't play at a certain level every three days."
Dortmund also face an anxious wait to learn the extent of midfielder Marcel Sabitzer's knee injury after the Austria international limped off the pitch in tears early in the second half.
"I don't know exactly what happened. In any case, he has knee pain and we now have to wait and see what exactly happened there," Kovac said.
"I can't say if it's a long-term injury and I don't want to throw any speculation into the room. We'll have to wait and see and the investigations will then bring the result."
Dortmund next host Mainz on March 30.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
