Daems, Gladbach refuse to give up
Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Filip Daems says ‘nothing is impossible’ as his side face an uphill battle to progress in the Champions League.
Moenchengladbach were beaten by Dynamo Kyiv in the first leg of their Champions League playoff at Borussia-Park on Tuesday.
Dynamo responded to Alex Ring’s opener with goals from Taras Mykhalyk, Andriy Yarmolenko and a Luuk de Jong own goal to take a 3-1 lead back to Kyiv for the second leg.
“We shouldn’t talk about reaching the next round as it will be very difficult now. But nothing is impossible,” captain Daems said.
“I think we will try to start the game in Kyiv like we did here. Then, if we can get in front, it may start to make Dynamo nervous and realise that they are involved in a game.
“Unfortunately, our performance let us down (on Tuesday). We played against a good opponent. But this must not put us off our stride.”
Gladbach striker Mike Hanke admitted the match did not turn out as planned for the German outfit.
“We really did not want to concede at home,” Hanke said.
“But we conceded three goals with Dynamo Kyiv only having three efforts on target.
“It makes us feel very bitter. We dominated the game for long periods and had a lot of possession.
“But we have to appreciate that they have great individual forwards who took their chances.”
The second leg takes place at Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium on August 29 with a place in the Champions League group stage at stake.