LISBON -- Borussia Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos is confident that his side will progress in the Champions League despite suffering an unlikely 1-0 defeat away to Benfica on Tuesday night.
"We have to win 4-1 or 5-1 today," the Greece international told journalists after the match
"But when you don't score the first goal, you'll pay -- that is football."
The Black and Yellows were the dominant team for almost the entirety of the match. They hardly let the hosts out of their own half and created five clear cut chances, including a penalty, to grab a vital away goal.
However it was Benfica's Kostas Mitroglou who got his name on the scoresheet, pushing the ball over the line from close range following a corner kick. Mitroglou's shot remained the only shot on target for the Portuguese side. The final result turned the game on its head, but Papastathopoulos was encouraged by his team's performance.
"I think we played very well today, the team was compact, we good with the ball, and we had a healthy amount of chances," he said.
"The only problem was that we didn't score."
Asked about the difficulty of the task to turn the tie around in the return leg at the Westfalenstadion in March, the defender replied: "I don't think it is difficult. We play in our house. If we show the same performance as we did here, it will be very difficult for Benfica in Dortmund. We just have to play our football like we did today.
"I'm 100 percent positive [about making the next round]. Out of 10 times, you win today's game nine and a half times. Only today it wasn't to be. Benfica is a very good team, but it would be very bad for us if we don't make it to the next round."
A big reason for Dortmund returning to Germany empty-handed was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's wastefulness in front of goal. The Gabon international spurned three chances including a penalty kick that was a poor attempt fired directly at Benfica keeper Ederson.
Sokratis, however, did not want to slate his striker for the missed opportunities.
"Auba is one of our most important players," he said. "We're all with him. In the next game, he will score three or four goals."
Dortmund will try to overcome the 1-0 deficit in the return leg on March 8.