Kovac insists Dortmund are not down and out despite Stuttgart draw

Niko Kovac admits Borussia Dortmund have work to do but insisted they are not “down and out” after being held to a dramatic Bundesliga draw with Stuttgart on Saturday.

Dortmund succumbed to a 3-3 draw at Signal Iduna Park, with Deniz Undav completing a stunning hat-trick in stoppage-time, mere minutes after Karim Adeyemi thought he had netted the winner for Dortmund.

Emre Can broke the deadlock from the penalty spot just past the half-hour mark before Maximilian Beier doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 41st minute, sending Dortmund into the break with a two-goal lead.

But Undav had other plans as he dragged Stuttgart level in the second half, teeing up a grandstand finish.

Adeyemi looked to have sealed the points in the 89th minute, but Undav completed his treble in the 91st minute, as Dortmund slipped nine points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, who thrashed Freiburg 6-2.

“We had some very good sequences, especially when we shifted the play, and we deservedly scored the second goal,” Kovac told Dortmund’s media channels.

“With a bit of luck, we could have scored a third just before half-time. And then half-time is always like that: it helps some teams, but less so others. In this case, it didn’t help us.

“We weren’t at it. From the 60th minute onwards, it was a very interesting game for the spectators. But of course, we’re disappointed with the result. When you score to make it 3-2 in the 89th minute, you want to win the game.

“Yes, we need to finish games better. But we’re not down and out, for goodness’ sake, we’re still where we want to be, at the top – and we’ll stay there until the end.”

Not what we needed. pic.twitter.com/ERP04wpSXn

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) November 22, 2025

Beier summarised the result in more direct terms, saying: “Yes, it’s s***. You score in the 90th minute and then concede the equaliser in the 90th minute.

“The mood is at rock bottom right now. We conceded the goals too easily. We let them dribble into the middle too easily for the third goal, and Deniz is a cool customer who just scores those goals.

“We know each other, we understand each other very well and we all know that we can’t let him shoot at goal so freely.”

Undav has now scored two or more goals in consecutive Bundesliga matches for the first time in his career.

The Stuttgart captain also extended his formidable record against Dortmund, having now scored six times against them in the league – more than he has managed against any other opponent in the German top flight.