Kovac hails Dortmund's response as four-goal win marks 1,000th home Bundesliga game
After back-to-back defeats, Borussia Dortmund thumped Freiburg 4-0 on Sunday to clinch a top-four finish in the Bundesliga.
Niko Kovac hailed Borussia Dortmund's response to recent disappointments after they marked their 1,000th home Bundesliga game with a four-goal win that secured Champions League qualification.
BVB routed Europa League semi-finalists Freiburg 4-0 at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday to ensure they can no longer finish outside the top four.
Serhou Guirassy, Maximilian Beier, Ramy Bensebaini and Fabio Silva were on target for Kovac's team, who had lost their previous two Bundesliga matches.
Those defeats, against Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim, had allowed Dortmund's rivals Bayern Munich to secure their 13th title triumph in the last 14 seasons.
But after Sunday's game, Kovac was impressed with his players' ability to bounce back.
"We deserved to win the match – our 1,000th Bundesliga home game," he said. "It's a lovely anniversary with a really great result, and a really great first half.
"The second half was fine in my opinion, too. We could perhaps have put in a bit more effort, but the way we played, especially in the first half, convinced me and made me happy.
"That was a very good response to what hasn't gone well over the last couple of weeks.
"Everything fell into place; we kept a clean sheet, scored four goals again, and we brought in two young players who got a taste of Bundesliga action [Samuele Inacio started and Mathis Albert came off the bench]. All in all, we're all very satisfied."
Silva's late goal took him to five Bundesliga goal involvements as a substitute this season (two goals, three assists), and the former Wolves man is determined to continue contributing even when left out of the starting lineup.
"Whether I'm in the starting lineup or not, whenever the manager wants me on the pitch, I try to help the team," he told reporters in the mixed zone.
"I think everyone can see that I'm more than just a goalscorer. I think everyone can see, from the way I play, that I can help the team.
"Of course, as a striker, it's important to score goals. I think it's the best feeling when you score a goal.
"But at certain moments this season, it was more important to set up goals. I'm very happy with my performance and what I can bring to the team."
Dortmund go to Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday before closing out their campaign with games against Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen.
