Dortmund manager responds to Ian Maatsen criticism after Champions League final

Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic defended Ian Maatsen after the on-loan Chelsea defender came under fire for his mistake in the 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final on Saturday evening. Dortmund had the better chances in the opening 45 minutes at Wembley but were made to pay for missed opportunities as second-half goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior sealed Madrid’s 15th Champions League trophy .

Maatsen, meanwhile, delivered an impressive first-half display but Madrid pounced on his loose pass in the build up to Vinicius Jr’s goal with seven minutes remaining. The 22-year-old has been one of Dortmund’s standout performers since joining from Chelsea on loan in the January transfer window and the German club are keen to sign the left-sided defender permanently this summer, although there was no purchase option as part of their agreement with Chelsea.

Maatsen has faced criticism for his mistake in the wake of Dortmund’s defeat but Terzic insists the Dutch defender is ‘going to have a bright future’. When asked about Maatsen’s performance after Dortmund’s defeat in the Champions League final, Terzic said:

‘So first of all before I answer that question congratulations to Real Madrid, Mr Carlo Ancelotti and his team, a real true champion we faced today and a big win for them. ‘Now we can speak about Ian, I think that Ian was part of a really good team today, especially in that first half we went close to scoring and Ian was one of the reasons because he played a fantastic game.

‘And then there was the momentum where the game turned around and you see why they are the champions of this competition. ‘Yeah, this is a game full of mistakes and it’s all about the reaction.

Ian is a player who always wants to get on the ball, it doesn’t matter how tight the situation is, he wants to get on the ball and he wants to accelerate, he wants to play forward. ‘And if you have this kind of mentality then, of course, sometimes you are going to lose the ball.

‘No hard feelings whatsoever about Ian because they did similar situations in the first half but we didn’t show the efficiency to score. ‘I’m quite sure that Ian is going to learn from that night and he’s going to have a bright future.’