"We hit the post twice, the bar twice, and their goalkeeper made good saves two or three times. But that's football for you," said Gonzalo Castro, while Michael Zorc said it was a match "you should never ever lose". Thomas Tuchel labelled the result "paradoxical" and said in amazement: "I know you need that little bit of luck in order to win games. But today you saw that it is possible to win a game with luck alone."

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Sven Bender, pictured here in a challenge with Ari, lined up in central defence.

Having lost 1-0 away in Russia and won 2-1 at home, the away goals rule means BVB have lost their head-to-head battle with FC Krasnodar, who have the same number of points, and are now dependent on results elsewhere to seal top spot: "We would have loved to leave here tonight as group winners. But let's see what's still possible," said Roman Weidenfeller before the long flight home.

Similarly to the outbound flight, the Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 carrying the BVB squad home was diverted around Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula while also flying against the wind. The plane was in the air for over four hours before handing in Paderborn, 90 kilometres away from Dortmund, shortly before 2 in the morning. Due to a night-time landing ban in force in Dortmund, the players boarded the team bus and took the motorway route back to the Westphalian city.

5,000 kilometres, seven and a half hours in the air - but nothing to show for all of it. The mood largely reflected the result. "It just wasn't to be. We did a lot of things right, but were a bit unlucky in attack," bemoaned shot-stopper Weidenfeller. Tuchel had already tried to boost his team's morale in the changing room, lauding their "serious performance" and declaring: "We put in a very, very good performance from the second to the 94th minute. We found a lot of solutions and created a lot of shots on goal, and we would have completely deserved it if we had won this match. We dominated it in a manner which I had not envisaged at all."

Hummels: Foul but no penalty!

The passage of play that ultimately decided the match came a matter of seconds after kick-off when Hummels pulled Pereyra to the ground. "It was a foul. I kept my hand on his shoulder for slightly too long and should have let him go earlier than I did. But it was a free-kick, because the incident took place outside the box," said the captain, who subsequently absolved the referee of all blame: "It was a difficult decision to make."

It was the fifth time in nine Europa League matches this season that Borussia Dortmund had fallen behind - but the first time they were subsequently unable to avoid defeat. Hummels said: "We put in a good performance and should have taken something from the game. But we failed to get an equaliser." The result means BVB are no longer top of the group.

The chance to rectify that will come in 14 days, when the Black and Yellows will be hoping to better Krasnodar's result in the group's other match.
Boris Rupert