"Played very sloppy football" - Schlotterbeck makes harsh admission of their Pokal win over Werder Bremen
Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck felt his side deserved to lose their two-goal advantage for playing 'sloppy' football in their DFB-Pokal encounter with Werder Bremen.
The BVB beat the River Islanders 3-2 at the Signal Iduna Park, but not before losing their 2-0 lead, just as they did in their Bundesliga encounter on 9 October.
Goals from Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka had given Dortmund a comfortable cushion at the break but Niclas Fullkrug came off the bench to net twice and bring the visitors level.
Speaking to the press after the match, Schlotterbeck reflected on Dortmund losing control of the game:
We had everything under control in the first half, and then Carney and Serhou had a huge chance to make it three-zero. After the penalty kick, we were on the ropes, played very sloppy football, hit a lot of long balls over the top, and lost a lot of second balls.
In the 56th minute, Chukwuemeka squared the ball to Guirassy on the left to shoot, but the Guinea squared it back to him instead, and the Austrian international failed to connect with it properly as the glorious chance went begging.
Werder Bremen deserved to make it two-one and two-two. In the end, it was a fifty-fifty game that was decided by a stroke of genius.Schlotterbeck further added.
Schlotterbeck hails 'big goals' man, Sabitzer
Eventually, the match was decided by a late free-kick from Marcel Sabitzer. Felix Nmecha drew a foul out of Senne Lynen just outside the box and the Austrian ace went for goal himself, driving it into the near post with a sensational effort.
Dortmund were back in front and saw out the last few seconds to win 3-2 and advance into the Round of 16 of the German Cup. Schlotterbeck hailed Sabitzer for his late heroics and looked forward to their next game in the competition:
For some reason, [Marcel Sabitzer] seems to be in charge of the really big goals. Take the game against Atlético, for example, and now this one against Bremen. We advanced, so we'll play in the third round in early December. I’m really excited for that.
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