The Daily Bee (November 7th, 2018): BVB’s unbeaten streak ends in Madrid

• Champions League results

Yesterday’s Champions League result was rather disappointing for BVB but it’s not time to panic just yet. BVB did not play well and looked to have no ideas how to overcome Atletico’s press, the disappointment is even bigger considering that Simeone didn’t have his entire first team at his disposal. However the good news for BVB is that they are still in first place, have won the direct duel against Atletico and are still in prime position for a first place finish.

In addition it’s unlikely that this result tells us much about the upcoming clash with Bayern Munich. The Bavarians cannot really play the same style that Atletico have just shown, a deep-lying mostly defending and counterattacking football. Kovac could try to replicate this playing style on Saturday but it’s hard to predict how a sudden change of tactics could shake out for Bayern.

Other results were quite surprising like Liverpool losing to Belgrade and making things difficult for themselves in a tough group with Napoli and PSG who drew 1:1. Especially Liverpool and PSG started this Champions League campaign with high expectations but it’s very likely that one of them will be knocked out already in the group stage.

Tottenham kept their hopes alive with a narrow 2:1 win against PSV but Inter picked up a crucial point at home against Barcelona. The Spurs don’t have any room for mistakes and will have to win out to qualify.

• Reactions after the loss (BVB.de)

Some players and coach Lucien Favre had reactions after the game:

Lucien Favre: ‘’Atlético were really, really good in defence and were very dangerous whenever they won the ball back. We lost the ball too often, and they were really quick to counter. We found ourselves in several dangerous situations. In games like this, you have to play with patience, you can’t go giving the ball away unnecessarily and you absolutely have to avoid giving the other team counter attacking opportunities. They were really tight and compact. We failed to find those balls between the lines. Today ended in a defeat, it can happen: at the end of the day it’s just a game of football.’’

Marco Reus: ‘’The result was clear enough, but in my opinion we shouldn’t have lost today as we controlled the first 30 minutes. After we conceded it was as if our game lost all its edge, we were no longer in control and we lost our way. It wasn’t our best game, it’s our first defeat and it was deserved in the end. We have to play with more control and more focus, if we do so we won’t lose games like this. Now we have to pick ourselves up for Saturday, when it all gets underway again.’’

• Could Isak move to Spain? (Sport Bild/Gol Digital)

According to Gol Digital Real Valladolid are interested in Alexander Isak and could make a move for the young striker in January. Dortmund would probably not oppose a move, Isak has not played for the first team under Lucien Favre even though BVB had problems at striker for quite some time. It’s not clear yet if the Spanish team would look for a loan or to buy Isak.

Daily Buzz: Looking ahead to the Bayern match on Saturday, could the Bavarians try the same tactics as Atletico? In other words cede possession to Dortmund and try to hit them on the counter?