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Black eye for Bayern

Dortmund coach Tuchel compares hard-fought win to a boxing bout

DORTMUND 1

(Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 11)

BAYERN MUNICH 0

Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said that he could not be happier to get out of the ring after a fight with Bayern Munich with a points' victory.

Using a boxing euphemism, Tuchel admitted that the best his side could have hoped for was not to be knocked out by the record German champions, and they got more than they bargained for, thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 11th-minute winner.

"When you step into the ring with Bayern, then you cannot really expect to come out without a black eye, without conceding a goal," said Tuchel on his club's website.

"You've just got to do all you can to stay on your feet and that was our motto.

"No matter what happened, no matter how much we have to suffer, we would never give up and we would keep supporting each other, remaining courageous and continuing to defend.

"We had a goal to defend in the end and we did that."

The goal was worth three points and resulted in Bayern's first defeat of the season, reducing the gap between both sides to just three points.

Although Tuchel admitted that his team had wobbled a bit in the end, they never risked taking any knockout blows.

"We conceded a few half-chances near the end, but there were few big chances in there," he said.

"That is why this was such a great performance from us.

"It was a difficult game and we suffered a lot at times, but we knew it was going to be like this."

12TH MAN

Dortmund's hero Aubameyang thanked the home crowd for carrying the team through.

"The second half was crazy! It was a huge effort. We fought a lot in the second half and the crowd helped us," said Aubameyang. "It was really emotional and we needed to reach that third dimension. But we did it and I'm very happy."

For the first time since taking charge of Bayern in the summer, Carlo Ancelotti had to comment on a defeat, and he found it understandably difficult to do so.

"I think we were surprised a bit in the first 15 minutes and that was when they scored, but then we played well from then on," he told Fox Sports.

"The end was a bit hectic, but we did well in the second half. We were just a bit unlucky and a bit imprecise with our final ball. We have to take this defeat and move on."

With Leipzig extending their unbeaten start to the season to 11 games on Friday, defeat also meant Bayern lost top spot in the Bundesliga.

"What's there to say? We lost," said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm. "The last pass was missing for us, especially in the first half. We had plenty of chances, while Dortmund only had a few, but we didn't take our chances and that's why we lost today.

"The league's now exciting and that is what everybody wants, isn't it?"

Tuchel believes Leipzig can emulate Leicester and win the Bundesliga title against the odds this season.

"Leipzig are no flash in the pan," said Tuchel. "They are to be taken absolutely seriously. It is comparable with what happened last season in England, the phenomenon which was Leicester City.

"Leipzig can go exactly the same way. I am convinced of this whenever I see them play." - Wire Services.


“The second half was crazy! It was a huge effort. We fought a lot in the second half and the crowd helped us.”

— Borussia Dortmund’s hero Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

OTHER RESULTS

Yesterday

  • Hoffenheim 2 Hamburg 2
  • B M'gladbach 1 Cologne 2
  • Mainz 4 Freiburg 2
  • Wolfsburg 0 Schalke 1
  • Augsburg 0 Hertha Berlin 0
  • Darmstadt 0 Ingolstadt 1

Friday

  • B Leverkusen 2 RB Leipzig 3
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