Niko Kovac takes the blame after Dortmund's loss at Bodo/Glimt

Niko Kovac did not hide from Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 Champions League defeat at Bodo/Glimt. After four changes from the Bremen match, and with Felix Nmecha, Serhou Guirassy and Ethan Nwaneri initially on the bench, Dortmund lost again away from home and Kovac ended the night saying, "blame me".

Kovac's rotation call

The logic behind the selection was clear enough. Kovac explained before the match that he wanted smaller, more mobile players for the artificial turf, and that is why Fabio Silva, Kostas Karetsas and Samuele Inacio started from the outset.

The gamble did not hold. Borussia Dortmund suffered their fourth Champions League away defeat in a row, and the club's 1-0 loss at Bodo/Glimt left them 18th in the table with 3 points from 2 matches.

Kovac's public apology

Kovac's post-match line was direct: "With those who played today, we were not right. But I am the one who decided that and I take full responsibility and so you can blame me." He also said, "We did not exist defensively."

The bench changes did at least alter the tempo. The quadruple substitution came in the 60th minute, and Dortmund's best spell followed immediately after that. But the match had already been settled by Fredrik Sjøvold's 52nd-minute goal, and Bodo/Glimt vs Borussia Dortmund never swung back.

Kovac's public apology feels aimed at protecting his players as much as owning the mistake himself. He had only been given his contract extension on Tuesday, then dealt with a poor selection call and a result that stretched Dortmund's away run to four straight defeats in the Champions League.