Football
ESPN staff 7y

Thomas Tuchel praises Roman Burki in well-deserved win over Hertha Berlin

Thomas Tuchel was full of praise for his goalkeeper Roman Burki after Borussia Dortmund sealed a quarterfinal spot in the DFB-Pokal with a penalty shootout win over Hertha Berlin on Wednesday.

After 120 minutes, the match finished 1-1 with Dortmund conceding a Salomon Kalou goal in the first half before Marco Reus slotted in the equaliser after the interval. There was no more goals even in extra time, as the match went into penalties with Dortmund securing a 3-2 win after Fabian Lustenberger, Vladimir Darida and Kalou missed from the spot.

Next up for Dortmund is an away game in the quarterfinal against third-tier side Sportfreunde Lotte who saw off Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen on their way to the last eight.

"Praise to [goalkeeper] Roman Burki," Tuchel said. "He was on every penalty. The penalty of Gonzo [Gonzalo Castro] to make it 3-2 was very important. After that it felt very good.

"We had so many opportunities. I did not expect that. We are currently standing with a very good charisma, a good spirit and quality on the pitch. But we were again lacking in the final success, the punch, the very last will to decide the matter.

"Bottom line, it is a deserved victory."

Tuchel also reserved special praise for winger Ousmane Dembele who had a superb outing, and even had to leave the field with cramps in extra time, only to return to score in the penalty shootout.

"He had a full body cramp and was revived," Tuchel said. "After he had made it up to the penalty spot we were confident that he can also shoot.

"He has that certain something. It's in there deep within him."

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