Kovac and Schlotterbeck left frustrated after Dortmund let lead slip

Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac was left frustrated as his side were held to a 1-1 draw with Hamburg after conceding an injury-time equaliser.

Bayern Munich’s 2-2 draw away to Union Berlin gave Dortmund the opportunity to bridge the gap at the top to five points, and they looked set for a third successive league win.

Carney Chukwuemeka gave them the lead in the second half with a volley, continuing Dortmund’s scoring streak in the league as they have now netted in all 10 Bundesliga outings this season.

However, the hosts would equalise in the seventh minute of injury time as Ransford-Yeboah Konigsdorffer levelled the match right at the death, leaving Kovac disappointed with how Dortmund had conducted themselves after going in front.

“There were too many simple turnovers,” he told DAZN.

“That sometimes happens in football when one scores the 1-0. One must score the 2-0 before one can relax.”

90+7′ | You gotta be kidding. #HSVBVB 1-1

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) November 8, 2025

Defender Nico Schlotterbeck believed the team switched off and moved away from their fundamentals after doing the hard work by getting in front.

“I think we had everything under control until scoring the opening goal,” Schlotterbeck told Sky Germany.

“We hardly allowed anything until that. Then we lost control and became too sloppy. We let HSV take control.

“Then what often happens when you become too passive, happened. When 15 crosses come in, one of them is bound to go in.

“We need to play a little more football, and we didn’t manage to do that in the end.”

Chukwuemeka’s volley was Dortmund’s only shot on target in the whole match, despite registering 17 efforts overall.

BVB now sit third in the Bundesliga table ahead of the third international break of the season, one point and one place above Bayer Leverkusen.