Although relieved about the victory, Marco Rose could not refrain from criticizing his team. "It was a really tough game, also emotionally. On the one hand, I'm happy. On the other hand, I'm a bit annoyed about some phases of the game, especially the two final phases of each half," commented the Leipzig soccer coach on Sky after the ultimately narrow 3:2 (1:1) victory in the Bundesliga top match at Borussia Dortmund.
Although his team were outnumbered for a long time after BVB defender Mats Hummels was sent off in the 15th minute, they still had to endure anxious minutes in the final phase to save the lead over time. "The win is lucky at the back, you have to be honest. Losing control of the game with one man more is not good," admitted the coach.
Scorer Christoph Baumgartner (54) was similarly critical of the victory, which saw Leipzig consolidate fourth place in the table: "Especially after ten minutes, when you're a man up, you imagine the game differently, you have to be honest," said the goalscorer. "We didn't play our best game. We have to do better with our quality." Thanks to BVB defender Ramy Bensebaini's own goal (32nd minute) and further goals from Baumgartner (54th) and Yussuf Poulsen (90.+1), the visitors were spared a draw.
However, the coach put the main blame for his professionals' mixed performance on himself: "I'll take the blame for that. We overshot the mark in some training session during this long week. I'm happy about the three points, but I'm annoyed about the training control. The energy was gone today, that's also my responsibility."
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