Frustrated Kovac begins Dortmund era with defeat at home to Stuttgart

Niko Kovac’s first game in charge of Borussia Dortmund did not go to plan, falling to a 2-1 home defeat to Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.

Niko Kovac praised Borussia Dortmund after they “gave everything” but was left disappointed after his debut ended in defeat.

Dortmund fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Stuttgart on Saturday, losing more ground on the Bundesliga’s top four as they now sit in 11th, six points behind their opponents.

A Waldemar Anton own goal and a Jeff Chabot header gave Stuttgart a 2-0 lead, and though Julian Brandt cut the deficit, the hosts could not find an equalizer before Julia Ryerson’s late sending-off for a second booking.

Dortmund are now winless in their last five home games in the Bundesliga (D3 L2), marking their worst such run on home soil since autumn 2007 under Bert van Marwijk (also five).

The Black and Yellow were the dominant team, having 16 shots, five of which were on target, as they created 1.36 expected goals (xG). However, Stuttgart was clinical, netting with both shots on target.

They also made more than double the amount of Stuttgart’s passes (579 to 269) and enjoyed 68.3% possession. 

Overall, Kovac was happy with what he saw from his team, with the result the only let-down.

“The boys gave everything, 100% right up to the last minute,” Kovac said. “The same goes for the substitutes.

“The result was the only thing I didn’t like. The rest was completely fine.

“We shouldn’t have come away on the losing side. The team did a lot of things well, both on and off the ball. But we didn’t always make the right decisions in the opposition penalty area and stopped ourselves from reaping the rewards.

“Because before the goal that made it 1-0, we had a crystal-clear opportunity to score when Karim [Adeyemi] went through.

“For the goal that made it 2-0, I would like to know whether this is a new phase of play or not. Two people came from a passively offside position. I know we have a lot of work to do.”

Dortmund will try to put the home defeat behind them as they look to progress in Europe with a play-off tie in Portugal against Sporting CP on Tuesday.