Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp is only interested in focusing
on the positives aspect of the match between his side and Napoli after his side
went down 2-1 at Napoli on Wednesday.
Subsequently, Klopp was sent to the stands for his protests after
Gonzalo Higuain's first-half opener for the hosts, with the German angry that
Neven Subotic had not been allowed back onto the pitch after injury, leaving
his team short in defence as the Argentine striker glanced home Juan Camilo
Zuniga's cross.
Things then went from bad to worse for last season's beaten UEFA
Champions League finalists, as they were reduced to 10 men when goalkeeper
Roman Weidenfeller was dismissed for handling outside the area just before
half-time.
But even though Lorenzo Insigne went on to double Napoli's lead
with a superb free-kick after the interval, Dortmund fought back well and got
themselves a lifeline through Zuniga's 87th-minute own goal.
They could not force a late equaliser, but Klopp believes the
Bundesliga leaders' attitude in testing circumstances will hold them in good
stead for the rest of their Group F fixtures in the Champions League.
"We definitely did not show our best, but nothing is lost yet
- we knew ahead of the game that Napoli were a very strong side," he said.
"The second-half performance was better and we managed to
score a goal and hit the crossbar despite having a man less on the pitch. everything
wasn’t bad."
Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin backed his manager's opinoins,
saying that while Napoli were the better side, the Bundesliga outfit showed
their spirit by battling hard to get back into the game despite being down to
10 men.
"All things considered, it was a deserved defeat. Napoli
passed the ball well and we tried everything we could," the Turkey
international stated.
"I don’t think the players can be blamed, Napoli simply are a
quality side and when you are down one man, it is very difficult."
