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Despite the fact that the 2025/26 Bundesliga title race is now all but officially over, Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac expressed pride in the manner in which his team performed against German record champions Bayern Munich on Saturday evening. Kovac joined his counterpart Vincent Kompany in declaring Saturday evening’s five-goal affair “an excellent advert for the Bundesliga”.
Kovac also emphasized that FCB and German national team captain Joshua Kimmich was the man who made the difference, not to mention the fact that Bayern are simply a richer club capable of purchasing players more capable of contributing right away. Kovac naturally knows what he’s talking about, having coached Bayern, and Kimmich, himself during the 2018/29 and 2019/20 campaigns.
Niko Kovac’s statements at the post-match press conference
“I think that my team played a very good game today,” Kovac said. “Not only my team, but also Bayern Munich as well. This was a great advert for German football both here and abroad. A shame that we could have earned a deserved point today, but the slight – and yet significant – difference today was Joshua Kimmich. That applies to the third goal that he scored himself and the first goal, which he helped set up.
“I think that, particularly after the Champions League elimination against Atalanta Bergamo, we showed what we’re made of,” Kovac continued. “The support from the stands was great. I’m disappointed about the result, but pleased with the effort. We need to take the progress into account. Last year, we were 25 points [behind Bayern]. This year, it’s 11.
“Bayern can but top players for €70m or €80m,” Kovac concluded. “We purchase players with developmental potential with whom we’re largely satisfied. We have good players who had their chances. Karim [Adeyemi] had a few chances that he couldn’t take. Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry, on the other hand, are simply world class.“
