Kovac satisfied with Hoffenheim win but Dortmund 'nothing spectacular'
Borussia Dortmund are now unbeaten in six Bundesliga games after their win over Hoffenheim, but Niko Kovac still sees room for improvement.
Niko Kovac was left wanting more from his Borussia Dortmund team despite their 2-0 win over Hoffenheim, labelling their performance as "nothing spectacular".
Dortmund extended their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to six games on Sunday thanks to goals in either half from Julian Brandt and Nico Schlotterbeck at Westfalenstadion.
After exiting the DFB-Pokal to Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the week, Dortmund responded by moving to within one point of second-placed RB Leipzig in the top-flight table.
But Kovac's team were made to work for their win, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 1.26 from eight shots to Hoffenheim's 1.14 from their 11 attempts in the match.
"We kept a clean sheet, we won 2-0, we missed two really good chances and didn't give Hoffenheim anything – I'm very satisfied," Kovac said.
"We didn't let ourselves be caught on the break as much as they might have expected, as was the case here at home against Leverkusen.
"Nothing spectacular, but a deserved victory. Physically, the lads had to push themselves to the limit today. The 1-0 was a textbook attacking sequence.
"That's how we practised it in training – when it comes off in a match, it's great."
But there was a special moment in the match for Brandt, who opened the scoring in the 43rd minute after he turned home Yan Couto's cross beyond Oliver Baumann.
In what was his 200th Bundesliga appearance for Dortmund, Brandt netted his 39th goal for the club.
Indeed, since signing for the club in May 2019, only Erling Haaland (62) and Marco Reus (40) have netted more top-flight goals for Dortmund than Brandt.
He also tops the charts for chances created (340) in that timeframe, and although his milestone outing for Dortmund was far from a classic, he was thrilled to help his team return to winning ways ahead of facing Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League on Wednesday.
"The game took a lot of energy. And it wasn't the most enjoyable game with all the back and forth and high balls," Brandt added.
"It was an extremely important win for us after being knocked out of the DFB-Pokal. In previous years, we were chasing wins before the winter break.
"Now it's good that we're winning most of our games and that we've only lost one game in the Bundesliga. That's good for us and gives us confidence. But the year isn't over yet."
