Niko Kovac admits Borussia Dortmund struggled after Champions League night

Niko Kovac admitted Borussia Dortmund initially struggled to find their rhythm against Paderborn following their midweek Champions League exploits, despite running out comfortable winners.

Niko Kovac on the touchline for Borussia Dortmund vs SC Paderborn.

Christof Koepsel/Getty Images

Niko Kovac believes Borussia Dortmund felt the effects of their Champions League commitments during the early stages of Saturday's 3-0 victory over Paderborn. 

Dortmund came into the fixture just four days after their 3-2 win against Villarreal, but still made the perfect start as Fabio Solva opened the scoring after just five minutes. 

However, boss Kovac admitted his side did not find the opening stages straightforward. 

“I thought the team didn't find it particularly easy to get into the game after the Champions League night,” Kovac told DAZN. 

“But we took the lead quickly and had two goals ruled out for offside.”

Both of those efforts came from Serhou Guirassy, before Felix Nmecha came off the bench to seal the deal in the closing stages. 

“In the second half, we saw the qualities that my team has,” he added.

“That’s why we deserved to win the game, and certainly we should have won by an even bigger margin.”

As a result of the win, BVB sit second in the league with a 100 per cent record, while the two conceded against Hoffenheim last week remain the only ones on the board thus far.