BVB Boss Peter Bosz Avoids Handball Talk After Loss & Instead Praises 'Deserving' Real Madrid

Borussia Dortmund boss Peter Bosz said he wanted to steer clear of Sergio Ramos' "clear handball" in the opening exchanges, and instead praised Los Blancos for simply being the better team following the Bundesliga outfit's 3-1 home defeat to the Spaniards on Tuesday night. 

A delightful goal from Gareth Bale in the opening 45 minutes and a brace from Ronaldo in the second-half were enough to see off the hosts, even though Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's well-taken volley put his side back into contention. 

However, in the opening quarter of an hour, as the game was tightly poised at 0-0, Ramos seemed to divert Maximilian Philipp's volleyed effort away from goal with his hand. But, when the former Ajax manager was asked around the incident, he was quick to state it could have had no bearing on the result. 

"I have to say first of all that we deserved to lose", Bosz told the club's official website. 

"We played against a very good team tonight and we weren't on their level. So I don't want to start talking about that incident. 

"Yes the score was 0-0 and it was a clear handball, but Real were better than Dortmund tonight and deserved to win."

Tuesday was the second gameweek in a row that Dortmund had conceded three, following their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur by the same scoreline at Wembley Stadium earlier this month. 

However, Bosz was quick to defend his back-four, stating in fact the entire team must bear the responsibility for their, at times, questionable defensive display. 

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"When you want to play the way that we do, you really need to apply pressure", the 53-year-old said. 

"So it wasn't a problem with the defence, but rather with the team as a whole. If the strikers and midfielders cannot apply pressure properly, then it becomes difficult for the defence."

The result sees Dortmund now six points adrift from both Madrid and Tottenham in Group H, however with the back-to-back matchweek double approaching, and the chance to claim six points over Apoel Nicosia, Bosz's outlook on qualification remains positive. 

"There are still four games left", the former midfielder added. 

"And we will try to win these four games. It's important that we now win both games against Apoel Nicosia, and then we'll need to see how the matches between Real and Spurs have gone."