Kovac grateful for ‘lucky win’ after Dortmund turnaround stuns Hoffenheim

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Niko Kovac acknowledged Borussia Dortmund were “lucky”, but praised their “fantastic display of energy” during their comeback victory over Hoffenheim.

Dortmund recovered from 2-0 down to prevail 3-2 at SNP Arena, and make it two wins from two at the start of this Bundesliga season.

Goals from Leon Avdullahu and Tim Lemperle had put Hoffenheim in control by the 54th minute, but Serhou Guirassy and Fabio Silva completed the visitors’ comeback, before a late Albian Hajdari own-goal gave them all three points.

It marked the first time Dortmund had come back from at least two goals down to win a Bundesliga away game since beating Eintracht Frankfurt by the same scoreline in January 2022.

“It was a lucky win, you have to say that, especially when you win the game thanks to an own-goal,” Kovac said.

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) September 5, 2026

“But it was a fantastic display of energy that shows what the team is capable of. It was a very intense game. We knew we had to give everything against Hoffenheim. Everyone saw the quality they possess. 

“I would have preferred to see us take a 2-0 lead. We only woke up after going down 2-0. Before that, Hoffenheim played very, very well. They caused us problems and after going down 2-0, we went all out and made some good substitutions. The players who came on brought that extra something.”

Dortmund’s fightback gave Kovac victory in his 50th Bundesliga match in charge. Taking his tally of points to 107, he surpassed Lucien Favre’s previous club record of 106 for the most accumulated in his first half-century of games at the helm.

“They did very well with their press and closing us down,” added Gregor Kobel on Sky. “They also put us under pressure time and again when they had the ball.

“We struggled to find our way into the game, to create effective combination plays, and to win second balls. To some extent, we were playing catch-up.

“After [our first goal], it was an open game that swung back and forth a bit, but we were the ones who managed to score. It feels great to have won here.”

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