The Borussia Dortmund defence featuring Mats Hummels put in a very solid performance for much of their 1-0 home defeat to FC Bayern München, with one crucial exception that went on to decide the game in FCB's favour.
Speaking with DFB.de, Dortmund's World Champion talks about the defeat in Bundesliga's top fixture on matchday 27 and looks ahead to the DFB Cup quarterfinal against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Tuesday evening (20:30 CEST).
DFB.de: Mr. Hummels, what separated FC Bayern from Borussia Dortmund on Saturday?
Mats Hummels: They were more clinical. The team that scores goals from few chances is usually more effective and that was the case with Bayern on Saturday.
DFB.de: Ahead of the crucial goal, you ventured forward slightly, losing a challenge to Robert Lewandowski who went on to score just seconds later.
Hummels: The ball was still a good distance away from our goal at that point. Robert won the challenge because he is a quality player, something that's well known here in Dortmund. I don't usually have a problem accepting a share of the blame when we concede a goal, but in this case I think it's fair to say that we had chances to clear the ball after I lost that challenge.
DFB.de: At what point in the game did you feel like you had a shot at getting a result?
Hummels: The entire game to be honest. We didn’t allow them to create many chances. I think they only had two real opportunities. We didn’t have many more than that, but I think at least four good chances to score a goal came our way.
The Borussia Dortmund defence featuring Mats Hummels put in a very solid performance for much of their 1-0 home defeat to FC Bayern München, with one crucial exception that went on to decide the game in FCB's favour.
Speaking with DFB.de, Dortmund's World Champion talks about the defeat in Bundesliga's top fixture on matchday 27 and looks ahead to the DFB Cup quarterfinal against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Tuesday evening (20:30 CEST).
DFB.de: Mr. Hummels, what separated FC Bayern from Borussia Dortmund on Saturday?
Mats Hummels: They were more clinical. The team that scores goals from few chances is usually more effective and that was the case with Bayern on Saturday.
DFB.de: Ahead of the crucial goal, you ventured forward slightly, losing a challenge to Robert Lewandowski who went on to score just seconds later.
Hummels: The ball was still a good distance away from our goal at that point. Robert won the challenge because he is a quality player, something that's well known here in Dortmund. I don't usually have a problem accepting a share of the blame when we concede a goal, but in this case I think it's fair to say that we had chances to clear the ball after I lost that challenge.
DFB.de: At what point in the game did you feel like you had a shot at getting a result?
Hummels: The entire game to be honest. We didn’t allow them to create many chances. I think they only had two real opportunities. We didn’t have many more than that, but I think at least four good chances to score a goal came our way.
DFB.de: Does that mean that you were happy with your performance?
Hummels: We put early pressure on Bayern and prevented them from finding their rhythm. We knew that they were missing two players in Robben and Ribéry who are capable of relieving the pressure on their team with their pace and individual quality in 1v1 situations. However, we didn't retain the ball enough in the final third because Bayern still had quality players on the pitch. It was a close battle and I don't think that a 1-0 victory for us would have been undeserved. In the end though, the game was won by the team that scored that one goal, which is often the case in football.
DFB.de: Dortmund have failed to score a goal in four of their last five competitive games. Do Borussia have a problem in attack?
Hummels: I wouldn’t say so. We had games before that where we scored plenty of goals. It seems as if we are lacking the clinical touch at the moment, but we are working hard on improving our effectiveness. We will have more time now with fewer games to be played and I'm confident that we will see an improvement before the season ends.
DFB.de: However, your next game is just around the corner. What will happen between now and Tuesday when you take on Hoffenheim in the DFB Cup quarterfinals?
Hummels: Two days of recovery – that's it. We will analyse Hoffenheim in video sessions and discuss our game plan. Then our full focus is on the game and hopefully we will display more creativity in our attack against a team, and I say this with all due respect to Hoffenheim, that is not quite of the same quality as FC Bayern München.
DFB.de: What type of game do you expect?
Hummels: We want to show a similar performance to Saturday – but of course win the game this time around.
