Kovac admits Dortmund's season is a catastrophe
Niko Kovac was left to lament wasteful finishing and some bad luck after Borussia Dortmund went down 2-0 to RB Leipzig in another Bundesliga nightmare for the Schwarzgelben.
Dortmund had 25 shots, nine of them on target, at Red Bull Arena but still slumped to a defeat that leaves it 11th on the table, with Xavi Simons and Lois Openda on target for the hosts.
Dortmund hit the woodwork three times, with Leipzig the more clinical of the two sides.
"This is a catastrophe. And not the standard I set for myself," Kovac said after the match.
"It's unbelievable. I can't explain it either. The ball just wouldn't go in today. The fact is: We didn't score the goals and left the pitch as unfortunate losers today.
"We have to score at least three or four goals."
Dortmund was a UEFA Champions League finalist last season and has also made it to the quarter-finals this year, but its woeful domestic form has left its participation in European competitions next season in extreme doubt.
Midfielder Pascal Gross said Dortmund needed to be rational about its hopes of returning to Europe's biggest stage, adding: "We have to win games. It's slowly becoming unrealistic.
"First half was weak, second half we have to score the goals. We're in 11th place. I'm not going to say it now, 'We'll reach the [UEFA] Champions League'. You can always talk a lot. Today we didn't make it.
"It [the performance] was extremely bad, because once again we have problems after the Champions League. That really annoys me. I think consistency is a huge quality in football. We're lacking that. We can't play at a certain level every three days."
Dortmund also faces an anxious wait to learn the extent of midfielder Marcel Sabitzer's knee injury after the Austria international limped off the pitch in tears early in the second half.
"I don't know exactly what happened. In any case, he has knee pain and we now have to wait and see what exactly happened there," Kovac said.
"I can't say if it's a long-term injury and I don't want to throw any speculation into the room. We'll have to wait and see and the investigations will then bring the result."
Dortmund next hosts surprise high flyer Mainz on 31 March (AEDT), but defender Nico Schlotterbeck is not confident of its chances of pushing for European qualification.
He said: "It's difficult. It's almost impossible.
"The chances are very slim right now. We'll try our best, of course. After the international break, we have to attack somehow."
