Dortmund coach: There is a clear gap between us and Manchester City. It may be different if we score the second goal

In the fourth round of the Champions League on Wednesday night, Dortmund lost 1-4 away to Manchester City. In the post-match interview, Dortmund coach Kovac and the players admitted that there was a clear gap between them and Manchester City at certain stages.

Kovac: "We started well, but then we were too passive. They scored three goals outside the penalty area. This was a defeat that we deserved, although the score was 1 goal higher. Of course, the opponent has a very high level of strength. The difference today is obvious: Manchester City's pass-and-receive coordination is much cleaner than ours. In terms of details and simplicity, they were much better than us today, and therefore they scored more goals."

"We want to pass. We have to play on the wings because they are very compact in the middle. We did okay in part, but we could have been much better. We are not at the level that this team can do, but that is okay. We want to get to that level and we have to work on it every day. If someone had told me beforehand that we could get seven points in the first four games, I would not be dissatisfied."

Goalkeeper Kerber: "There are always phases in the game where we are relatively good. It was good in the first 15 minutes, but not much after that. We had a trough that I couldn't understand. We had a good game up until that point. After that, they had a lot of chances, were very dangerous and clearly dominated the game. I still think we didn't have that bad of a game in the end." 3}

Defender Anton: "In the first 15 minutes of the first half, we played pretty well, but then made too many mistakes in the offensive third. Then they had the ability to score goals in every position. In the second half, we tried to do better and increase the intensity a little more, and the effect was good. Then we played the game very open, and even after the 1-3 goal, we still had a chance to score a 2-3 goal. But in the end, the opponent scored one more goal."

Defender Schlotterbeck: "We played well for 15 minutes and then we completely gave it to Manchester City for 20 minutes, where they kind of had us in their clutches. After half-time it was okay, but we still conceded the third goal. At 1-3 we scored After that, we had a good period and Chucuemeca was a little slower against Donnarumma. If we had scored the second goal then, we might have had a chance. Still, we have to say: we deserved the loss because we were just not good enough."