Frustrated Kobel demands Dortmund maturity after Champions League thriller at Juventus

Gregor Kobel vented his frustrations and demanded more maturity from Borussia Dortmund after they were pegged back three times by Juventus in a Champions League epic.

Dortmund snatched the lead on three separate occasions in a 4-4 draw that saw eight second-half goals at the Allianz Stadium, with Dusan Vlahovic and Lloyd Kelly both scoring in stoppage time to drag Juve level.

Niko Kovac's side are just the fourth team in Champions League history to take the lead three times in a game and not win.

Juventus scored four times from just 1.95 expected goals and seven shots on target, leaving goalkeeper Kobel furious.

"Conceding four goals here, two in stoppage time, is incredibly frustrating for me," Kobel said on Amazon Prime Video. "Getting a point here is okay, but of course we would have preferred to win.

"We simply have to finish the game more coolly and composed. You just have to push the ball forward, play down the clock, and get it done. We simply have to play more mature football in the end."

Tuesday's clash was just the second fixture to see as many as eight goals scored in a half in Champions League history, after Bayern Munich routed Dinamo Zagreb last season.

Karim Adeyemi's 52nd-minute opener was soon cancelled out by Kenan Yildiz, before Vlahovic's first strike restored parity again after Felix Nmecha edged Dortmund back ahead.

Yan Couto's finish and a Ramy Bensebaini penalty then seemed set to have put Dortmund on course for three points, only for Vlahovic to score and set up Kelly in stoppage time.

"We're disappointed now," Kobel added. "We have to win the game, we can't let two goals in injury time. We can't let that happen to us, to draw here after playing such a great game."

At the other end of the pitch, Dortmund certainly got things right.

Among players with 10 or more appearances in the competition, Serhou Guirassy is now one of four players with more goal involvements (20) than games played in the Champions League (19), along with Lionel Messi (168 in 163), Erling Haaland (54 in 48) and Raphinha (28 in 26), after he teed up Adeyemi's opener. 

And only Leroy Sane (six) and Messi (five) have scored more goals in the competition from outside the box than Adeyemi's four since his Champions League debut in 2020-21.

There was also a maiden goal in UEFA's top club competition for Nmecha, who echoed a similar sentiment to goalkeeper Kobel.

"I'm happy about the goal I scored, but when you're two goals ahead and feel that victory is in the bag, it's disappointing to be caught up like that," the Dortmund midfielder said in quotes reported by UEFA.

"The second half was much more open. Both teams were willing to take risks, which resulted in goals. We gave our all and came close to winning, but unfortunately, it slipped away from us at the very end.

"While I'm not happy about conceding two goals in added time, leaving Turin with a point is still a positive result for us."