Surprising loss for Dortmund, excellent result for Rangers: what are the reactions of the coaches of both teams?

On Thursday evening, the Europa League match between Borussia Dortmund and Rangers FC took place. The first match of the knockout phase of the European competition was surprisingly won by the visitors at Signal Iduna Park, scoring four goals against their German opponents! How did the coaches of both teams evaluate this match?

Borussia Dortmund did not really have a good game behind them, whereupon even the home coach Marco Rose expressed his opinion that even though Dortmund’s players got the game under control after a skeletal start, they had to face shame in the result.

Rose was proved right by the statistics of the match. His team had 63% of the ball possession and even on shots won by 14:9.

The Borussia coach further complained that the problem was not just poor defensive play when his charges were conceding goals, but the overall direction of play and pace. These aspects of the match should have looked completely different at home, according to Rose.

He also criticized his players for heavy movement, especially in the opponent’s well-covered midfield. Poor selection of space and few forays behind the opponent’s defence were other factors in the home side’s collapse. According to Rose, his team could only endure a tougher standard in the last 15 minutes.

“The starting position for the rematch is difficult. We were two goals down at home. There is no longer a rule about away goals, so that might help us a little. To make up a two-goal deficit at Ibrox Park is a difficult task. We didn’t do our job well today. We will prepare ourselves to try and take the chances we have left,” said Rose in an interview with the club website.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the coach of the visiting Rangers, understandably first praised the very good result against a quality opponent. He further stated that he would like to carry this good result to their home ground, where they will face Dortmund in a rematch next week.

He also mentioned that he was proud of the performance of his charges in Dortmund. However, he added that he is aware that they are only halfway through, but scoring four goals on the opponents’ ground in European competitions is a huge achievement.

According to Bronckhorst, the Rangers footballers deserved the victory. It should be noted that Rangers prepared for Dortmund very well, both tactically and physically.

Will the Borussia players make up the two-goal deficit in Scotland next week? Or will Rangers defend their lead at home and move on? Let’s be surprised and wait for next Thursday.

Sources: Borussia Dortmund, Rangers FC, UEFA