Gregor Kobel did not look for excuses after his mega blunder. The BVB goalkeeper took the blame for Bayern’s first goal and thus also the main responsibility for the first Dortmund league defeat in 2023.
“I have no idea how the ball slipped through there. Nice shit, you just have to say it like that,” groaned the 25-year-old after the 2: 4 (0: 3) in the top game of the Bundesliga. “It’s clearly on me,” said the Swiss after his blackout at the wrong time.
Kobel knew that his faux pas in the 13th minute was the key scene in a game that subsequently ended in Borussia’s next downfall in Munich. “It starts with me stepping past the ball. We had a kink in the game,” said the biggest of all BVB losers. A harmless long ball from Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano Kobel tried to knock away with his right foot outside the penalty area. He hit an air hole and the ball hopped into the goal as Bayern fans cheered.
Own goal in front of Neuer’s eyes
Kobel threw his arms over his head and looked at the Allianz Arena in disbelief. In the lower tier of the grandstand, the injured Bayern captain and national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was one of the astonished observers. Since Kobel had touched the ball very delicately, the completely unsuccessful action was counted as an own goal.
For Kobel it was a strange déjà vu. A similar mistake happened to him in the 0: 2 in the first half of the season at Union Berlin – also right after an injury break. “Unfortunately, for me personally, days like that, scenes like that are part of it. That’s the goalkeeper’s suffering. If something like that happens, the alarm goes off immediately. I have to try to learn from it and be back in the next game,” commented the unlucky fellow: “I feel sorry for the team.”
Of course, there were no allegations from the team or from his bosses – on the contrary. “He’s saved our ass so many times this season so we can’t be mad about that,” said international Emre Can. Coach Edin Terzic made a plea for his number one. “We mustn’t forget that this man is the reason we were able to start top of the table. Gregor is perhaps by far the best goalkeeper this season in the Bundesliga.”
Sports director Sebastian Kehl commented on dealing with Kobel: “There’s a smack, then you look into your eyes and you know what’s going on. He’ll be the most annoyed. We need Gregor. He’ll make up for it in the next few weeks , I am very sure of that.”
Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke, who was unable to attend the game in Munich due to illness, also supported Kobel. “Greg will win us the next games again. It goes on. And on Wednesday,” said the 63-year-old before the quarter-finals of the cup at RB Leipzig on Wednesday (8.45 p.m. / Sky and ZDF) the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Kehl: “Get up again”
Kehl did not give up the fight for the title with FC Bayern. “We are Borussia, we’re getting up again – and the thing isn’t over yet,” said the 43-year-old defiantly: “It’s a bitter day, it hurts. But the championship hasn’t been decided yet today. We still have five home games and three away games.”
Terzic was also combative: “We’re going home with a portion of anger. But then we’ll look at the table and see that we’re two points behind the leaders.” And Watzke also sees the title race far from being decided. “We’re not giving up, there’s no reason for that. The road isn’t over yet,” said the BVB boss.
For Kobel, too, “nothing is lost yet”, even if he found it difficult to be optimistic at the end of his frustrating working day. “You’re broken now. If you say five minutes after the game, hey, let’s go, let’s go, that’s a bit early. But that will come in the week.” Especially since BVB continues on Wednesday in the DFB Cup with the quarter-finals at defending champion RB Leipzig. “We would like to go to Berlin, we still have this title in mind. So we have to pull ourselves together quickly,” warned Kehl.
