“We certainly have a good 2-0 lead right now, but nothing is decided yet,” said Niko Kovac at the press conference late in the evening. “We have to go to Bergamo, which is a small stadium with good support from the fans. It's going to be a tough battle. We saw today that a lot can happen when there's an early goal. We've been warned and we have to give it our all. We have to give as much as today and no less, then we can do it. It's definitely going to be a difficult game.”
In any case, the foundation for progressing has been laid. In Borussia Dortmund's history, a first-leg victory by two or more goals has paved the way for progress to the next round in 19 out of 20 cases. And it doesn't matter where the second leg took place as BVB have laid this foundation in the first leg 13 times at home and seven times away.
“We played really well against a really strong team. The second half was a battle of attrition. We defended very well and didn't concede anything over 90 minutes,” said Kovac about the first leg against Bergamo, adding: “You can only survive at this level in the Champions League if you work hard both up front and at the back.” That was direct praise for Maximilian Beier. “We had the option of putting Julian (Ryerson, ed.) at the back, but then we would lose him up front,” the coach revealed his thoughts, while praising Luca Reggiani: “That's why we decided to give Luca the chance to play in the Champions League. He didn't just do well; he did very well. It was a really mature performance. We're happy that he played so well.” And Ryerson provided the assist for the opening goal from his usual position, so it all worked out well!
Serhou Guirassy scored the first goal and set up Beier for the second. “Strikers always have to go through a slump now and then,” said Kovac about his forward, who has scored six goals in the last four games: “The important thing is to come out of it. He's getting really good service from his teammates at the moment.”
Another Guirassy goal in Bergamo on Wednesday would blow the door to the round of 16 wide open...
Boris Rupert