Champions League: And now? Careful BVB joy after a short intermediate high

They hesitated what else? Of course, Borussia Dortmund’s bosses like Lars Ricken were happy about an “outstanding statement” at Sporting Lisbon. The 3-0 was nothing more in the first leg of the playoffs for the round of 16.

The crisis plagued Dortmund people know better for a long time: a small high not only liked to follow the next deep in the recent past. This is exactly what is supposed to be avoided in the Bundesliga away game at the very descent-threatened VfL Bochum on Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky). “It was a first step, but we know that we still have many ahead of us,” said sports director Sebastian Kehl.

His superior Ricken warned the professionals that “no complacency should now occur”. Although the next round is tangible in the premier class, players and those responsible did not want to trust this little liberation. The BVB team is too feces, too unreliable the form of the vast majority of actors. Curiously, the game with the Portuguese champion has reflected this dilemma in an impressive way.

What told Kovac to the team at half time?

While the Dortmunders appeared almost terrifyingly in the first half, they almost turned as if they were transformed after the break. He didn’t know what the new coach Niko Kovac said in the cabin, said Ricken. “But he really has to have found the right words.”

The also unsettled Portuguese were pressed much more aggressively after the break, the ball run much faster. The truth also includes that sports presented himself extremely weak and susceptible without his suspended captain Morten Hjulmand.

Serhou Guirassy (60th minute), Pascal Groß (68th) and Karim Adeyemi (82nd) ​​had experienced little or no resistance before their goals. Since the saying of success coach Ruben Amorim zu Manchester United in November, the Portuguese can no longer build on the strong performance from the early months of this season.

Kovac chooses positive approach

All the better for BVB, which should expect significantly more aggressiveness in the next game. “We are now going to Bochum and you also know that it is not easy in Bochum,” said Kovac after his first victory in the second competitive game with Borussia.

The 53-year-old raved about his team’s appearance, who “impressed” him. Criticism of the weak appearance before half -time did not come, instead a lot of positive things. After all, the experienced coach has not missed the deep uncertainty of many of his players.

His first approach is to get into the heads of the professionals – so that it can make them close to their level of performance as in the second round. “In such situations you have to have a positive impact on the players,” said Kovac. For now that was successful. Whether it works sustainably will be shown in Bochum.