Following a mortifying midpoint and overflowing alteration - BVB fights against misperceptions of potential relegation.
Friends Club Cologne (17th) spoiled a potential lifeline. Mainz (15th) gave away the relegation spot with a dreadful first half. Union Berlin (16th) caused some worry.
Edin Terzic, the coach (41): "One team was determined to win, while the other just wanted to play soccer."
But Dortmund didn't want to take the blame for the relegation struggle with this disappointing display.
A humiliating half-time and major changes - Dortmund defends itself against accusations of causing relegation chaos!
Terzic had switched up his team in ten spots compared to the Paris miracle. Nico Schlotterbeck was the Wembley hero on the field. Recognition: Mainz overpowered Dortmund in the first half.
Terzic said: "We have our own standards of performance. After last week's game against Augsburg where we played with a B team and won 5-1, this was not what we're used to."
And the coach was correct: BVB won a furious game against a weak Augsburg team, but this time the light rotation (Hummels, Kobel, Sabitzer, Adeyemi stayed home) failed miserably. To the annoyance of other teams...
Terzic continued:"Unfortunately, we played a similar game with a completely different set of players in our last away match in Leipzig (1:4). I know some may be upset, but we are not responsible for the situations other clubs find themselves in. What bothers us is not what others feel, but our position in the Bundesliga. And that's because we've performed badly like this many times this season."
The defeated Mainz players were equally honest on the field.
Substitute goalkeeper Alexander Meyer: "We were well-prepared and disheartened at halftime. Playing for Borussia was an exciting experience, and we wanted to bring the excitement from Paris with us. We've still got a long season ahead of us, and everyone needs to look after themselves to collect points. I wouldn't say we didn't give our best. It was just a terrible performance from our team."
Salih Özcan, a former Cologne player: "We didn't do anything extra. In the end, it's a loss that may affect Cologne greatly. But we're not doing anything to benefit or hurt them. That was simply a terrible performance by us as a team."
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Source: symclub.org
