Niko Kovac vents after elimination: “We deserved to be eliminated.”

Niko Kovac, the club’s coach, did not hold back after his team’s bitter elimination from the Champions League. In statements to DAZN, he got straight to the point: “When you concede four goals in the group stage of the Champions League, as has already happened in the league phase, it’s difficult. We don’t need to discuss the penalty now. We simply weren’t present at the moments we conceded the goals. In the Champions League, mistakes like these are severely punished, and we are very disappointed and disheartened. After playing very well at home, we cannot let a draw like this slip away, even knowing it would be complicated. We are a Bundesliga team and we have to be able to handle that. We deserved to be eliminated. We didn’t play enough to advance.”

The frustration was also shared by Sebastian Kehl, who, in the mixed zone, stated: “It was a very weak performance from our side in many phases of the game. We deserved to be at a disadvantage; we recovered at certain moments, but conceding four goals here is simply too much. That shouldn’t happen at this level, and that’s why we deserved to be eliminated.”

In defense of his team and acknowledging the shortcomings, Emre Can, also speaking to DAZN, commented: “I don’t blame any player, but when so many individual mistakes are made, it’s difficult to progress. And if we had taken our chances – and I believe we had some clear ones in the second half – it would have been very, very unfortunate in the end. But, to be honest, we deserved to be eliminated. It hurts a lot. How many times has Gregor helped us and saved us this season? The way he made another great save in the first half was incredible. I feel so sorry for him! As I said, there are no blame, there is no blame whatsoever. We are all in this together.”

The statements from Kovac, Kehl, and Can reveal the deep disappointment hanging over the team, which now finds itself forced to reflect on its performance and prepare for the challenges ahead. The elimination from the Champions League is a harsh blow, but also an opportunity to learn and evolve. The future of the club in the Bundesliga and European competitions depends on its ability to overcome this setback and come back stronger.