Dortmund coach Kovac says Barcelona will be on another level from Lille
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - First Leg - Borussia Dortmund v Lille - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - March 4, 2025 Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac reacts REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo
Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac was delighted with his team's 2-1 comeback victory at Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday but predicted they would need to lift their game further to see off Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
The Germans drew 1-1 at home last week and went a goal down five minutes into the reverse fixture in France but fought back with two second-half goals to go through 3-2 on aggregate.
"A great team effort. It was unfortunate that we went a goal down, but the team still dominated the game," Kovac told DAZN.
"Overall there were a lot of chances for a Champions League away game. That shows that the team has quality and was born for games like this."
Kovac said they would face a tougher battle next month against Barcelona, who eased past Benfica in the round of 16, but was still confident in his side's chances of beating the Spaniards.
"Lille are a strong team on the ball. But Barcelona will top that, by a lot actually," Kovac said.
"For us, that means we'll need to make the most of the phases of possession that we get. When we're not in possession, we need to defend well. But we have good players too, good speeds, that we can use to hurt our opponents."
