Niko Kovac defends Jobe Bellingham after key scene in loss to Bayern Munich

Quite possibly the most important scene in Saturday evening’s “Bundesliga Top-Spiel” saw Bayern Munich’s Michel Olise score what would prove the game winning goal in the 78th-minute. Bayern were able to secure a 2-1 win over visiting title challengers Borussia Dortmund in part thanks to a failed clearance from Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham .

The young Englishman took too long to clear a Luis Diaz cross in front of goal. Olise happily pounced, sliding the 2-0 into the back of the net. Trailing by only one goal with only 12 minutes remaining, Dortmund might have been able to make a game of it had the scene played out differently. As it turned out, an 84th-minute “pull back goal” proved insufficient.

BVB head coach Niko Kovac specifically addressed the scene at his post-match press conference. After praising his team’s second half performance in general, Kovac made clear that – unlike in other past instances – he saw nothing wrong with Bellingham’s action.

“ I can’t find any fault with Jobe, ” Kovac said. “ He was standing where he needed to be. The ball was played in so sharply. It was an artistic feat in its own right that he didn’t score an own-goal. When a ball is played in so sharply, his first task is to hold his center-of-gravity.

“ He had his head down and Olise took advantage of this split second and slid in, ” Kovac continued. “ That’s not a simple [situation]. There’s no fault. I think that everything is fine with that situation. “

GGFN | Peter Weis

Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund Michel Olise Jobe Bellingham Late Winner Bundesliga