Dortmund boss Terzic sees 'no need to apologise' for fortuitous Chelsea triumph

By Sports Desk February 15, 2023

Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic acknowledged his side were fortunate to defeat Chelsea – but saw little reason to apologise for a fortuitous Champions League victory.

Chelsea dominated at the Signal Iduna Park but Karim Adeyemi's ruthless 63rd-minute strike ensured Dortmund will head back to Stamford Bridge on March 7 with a slender 1-0 lead in the last-16 tie.

Joao Felix twice spurned gilt-edged chances in the first half before Adeyemi broke away from a Chelsea corner to round Kepa Arrizabalaga and earn Dortmund a rare win over English opposition on Wednesday.

It marked the Bundesliga side's first win against an English team in European competition for 11 games, their last such victory against Tottenham in March 2016.

Terzic pinpointed Gregor Kobel, who made a personal Champions League record seven saves, as the difference as Dortmund rode their luck to snatch the advantage at the halfway point in the two-legged affair.

He told DAZN: "It's great to come out on the winning side.

"There was a little bit of luck involved and we had an exceptional goalkeeper.

"But there's no need to apologise after winning at home against Chelsea in the last 16.

"What we really needed was longer periods of possession. We won the ball well in midfield a lot, but then gave it away again too cheaply.

"There were a lot of good things, too – the best of which is the result – but we know it's not easy to play against Chelsea and we took a good step tonight."

Chelsea registered 21 shots to Dortmund's 14, with the Blues finding the target with eight of those compared to the hosts' two.

Graham Potter's men amassed an expected goals tally of 2.14 to Dortmund's 1.41 as well, suggesting Chelsea had higher quality chances, albeit they were unable to find a decisive strike.

While Kobel kept his 11th clean sheet in 23 games in all competitions this term, one more than the whole of last season (10 in 40 matches), Terzic felt Dortmund handed Chelsea the initiative too often.

"I feel like we defended our goal well but made it a little too easy for them to get into the final third at times," he added.

"If you saw how often we threw ourselves into challenges, how many shots we blocked, Chelsea have an incredible quality up front.

"But Gregor Kobel is in incredible form and we know when things get tight we can rely on him."

Related items

  • Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Leipzig: Visitors fightback halts unbeaten streak for Alonso's side Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Leipzig: Visitors fightback halts unbeaten streak for Alonso's side

    Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first defeat in 36 Bundesliga matches, as Leipzig came from behind to stun Xabi Alonso's side 3-2 at BayArena.

    Lois Openda struck twice for Marco Rose's, who recovered from 2-0 down to make it two wins from two and move to the summit of the table.

    It looked like business as usual for the reigning Bundesliga champions when they scored twice in the last seven minutes of the first half through Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo.

    However, Leipzig replied deep into first-half stoppage time with Kevin Kampl reducing the deficit.

    Openda then brought the visitors level in the 57th minute, before a stunning long-range strike completed the turnaround 10 minutes from time, condemning Leverkusen to their first league defeat in 15 months. 

    Data Debrief: Leverkusen's long streak comes to a shuddering halt

    Leipzig became the first side to beat Leverkusen in a Bundesliga match since Bochum achieved the feat a staggering 462 days earlier.  

    The visitors have begun a Bundesliga season with two wins from two for only the second time, also doing so in 2019-20.

    They are also now unbeaten in 13 league matches, their longest such streak since Rose took charge.

    As for Leverkusen, their invincible streak is officially history, as is their 29-game unbeaten run on home soil.

  • 'We really let ourselves down' - Coleman slams Everton after late Bournemouth collapse 'We really let ourselves down' - Coleman slams Everton after late Bournemouth collapse

    Seamus Coleman acknowledged Everton "really let ourselves down" and must "look at ourselves in the mirror" following their spectacular late collapse against Bournemouth.

    Sean Dyche's side, who were seeking their first points of the season, led 2-0 in the 87th minute at Goodison Park through goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

    However, the hosts were undone by three crosses in the latter stages, with Antoine Semenyo pulling a goal back and Lewis Cook levelling, before Luis Sinisterra completed a sensational turnaround in the sixth minute of stoppage time. 

    Boos rung around Goodison Park as the Toffees remained pointless and rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, and Coleman echoed the supporters' frustrations.

    "We really let ourselves down in front of our fans," the skipper said. "We cannot take our foot off the gas at this level. Unfortunately, we did that.

    "We cannot be conceding the goals that we did. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror."

    Meanwhile, Dyche bemoaned the lack of responsibility amongst his players, as they became the first side in Premier League history to lose a game after leading by two or more goals in the 87th minute.

    "We did so much right until they scored their first goal," the Everton head coach said. "The game should have been out of sight. We conceded one and then threw it away. I can't put my finger on it right now.

    "They kept raining it forward and got their reward in the end. They were playing it forward and crossing it into the box, and we didn't deal with it. Simple stuff, but we threw it away. It is the third game we have thrown away this season.

    "Everyone was looking at someone else to deal with things and that is when there is trouble. You could see the body language change. You have to see games through, and we have enough experience to do that, but today we didn't."

    Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola added: "It was the worst game we played this season. Everton deserved to win today, but the players kept pushing.

    "I always have hope because this team has spirit. We have done it before and had some good comebacks. The spark of the first goal made us believe we could do it again."

  • Werder Bremen 0-0 Borussia Dortmund: Schlotterbeck sent off as BVB are held Werder Bremen 0-0 Borussia Dortmund: Schlotterbeck sent off as BVB are held

    Borussia Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

    Defender Nico Schlotterbeck was sent off for Dortmund in the second half and Nuri Sahin’s side ultimately had to settle for a point.

    After an underwhelming start to the match, the visitors were more aggressive following the interval, with substitute Karim Adeyemi making an instant impact with an effort from more than 20 yards out. But Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer was in place to deny the forward.

    Dortmund were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when centre-back Schlotterbeck received a second yellow card for sliding in on Bremen forward Justin Njinmah.

    BVB still pushed for a winner despite their numerical disadvantage, but a solid Bremen defence withstood late pressure to secure a point at home.

    Data Debrief: Defences on top

    Neither side can claim they were hugely unfortunate not to have scored, with Dortmund’s expected goals (xG) total of 0.61 only coming in marginally ahead of the hosts (0.41).

    BVB did have four shots on target, although all four came from the 58th minute onwards with two of them from substitutes in Adeyemi and Donyell Malen, while Bremen only tested Gregor Kobel – who now has two straight clean sheets – on one occasion.

    It was Marvin Ducksch who had the hosts’ only shot on target in his 100th Bundesliga appearance, the first six of which came as a Dortmund player.

    The result means Bremen end a run of four straight home defeats to Dortmund in Bundesliga play, although they have now gone nine such matches without a victory.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.