Lewandowski: 'We don't want to lose in Dortmund again'
Dortmund - Robert Lewandowski admitted Borussia Dortmund must do better in wake of their defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 25.
As well as offering a frank account of his team's display at Signal Iduna Park, Lewandowski also shared his thoughts on the late disallowed goal that would have rescued a point for BVB against the Foals, and die Schwarz-Gelben's upcoming UEFA Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Zenit St. Petersburg FC.
Question:Robert Lewandowski, BVB suffered their fourth home defeat of the season against Mönchengladbach on Saturday. What did you make of Dortmund's performance?
Robert Lewandowski: We've dropped another three points, which isn't a nice feeling. We simply have to do better. Gladbach had two goal-scoring opportunities in the first half and scored both of them, but our final delivery wasn't quite good enough. That was our biggest problem.
Question: BVB almost equalised late on despite being a man down, but the goal was disallowed after your challenge on Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the penalty area...
Lewandowski: I didn't feel it was a foul. My back was turned on ter Stegen and I didn't see him. I didn't feel any contact either, if indeed there was any. It's a shame that the referee interpreted the situation differently, but that's no excuse for our defeat. Overall, we have to play a lot better.
Question: BVB are becoming the team everyone wants to play if they're in a bit of a rut. Hamburger SV managed to beat you three weeks ago, now Gladbach. Is there a reason for that?
Lewandowski: Good question! We need to talk to each other to establish why we performed the way we did against Gladbach. It's something I hope doesn't happen again. It doesn't matter which competition we're playing in - whether it's the Bundesliga, the DFB Cup or the Champions League - we always have to give our all and try to win every game.
Question: Speaking of the Champions League, has the defeat to Gladbach affected your confidence ahead of the match against Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday?
Lewandowski: I don't think so. We were in a similar situation before the first leg, when we'd just lost 3-0 at HSV in the Bundesliga. We responded well and won the first leg quite comfortably.
Question: Why do BVB tend to drop points before European games?
Lewandowski: To be honest, I have no idea why we always lose before Champions League matches. I want to win every game. I wanted to beat Gladbach and I want to beat Zenit on Wednesday.
Question: After the first-leg result, Wednesday's match is surely a formality...
Lewandowski: We're not in the quarter-finals yet, even after winning the first leg 4-2. We need to be on our toes and mustn't underestimate Zenit. I hope nothing happens that could jeopardise our passage into the next round, but the tie isn't over and we can't afford to play like we did against Gladbach. We will do everything to win the return leg in front of our own fans on Wednesday. We don't want to lose in Dortmund again!
Dietmar Nolte reporting from Dortmund
