Dortmund's Favre delighted with Champions League progression

SHOWS: DORTMUND, GERMANY (DECEMBER 10, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. DORTMUND COACH LUCIEN FAVRE HOLDING NEWS CONFERENCE

2. (SOUNDBITE) (German) DORTMUND COACH, LUCIEN FAVRE, SAYING:

"We've qualified in this difficult group. From the very beginning everybody said it was one of the most difficult groups. I must say it's fantastic to qualify in this group. It's good for everybody."

3. FAVRE LEAVING

4. CAMERAS

5. SLAVIA PRAGUE COACH JINDRICH TRPISOVSKY ARRIVING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) SLAVIA PRAGUE COACH, JINDRICH TRPISOVSKY, SAYING ACCORDING TO SIMULTANEOUS TRANSLATION:

"My analysis of the match is that everyone agreed they saw attractive football, and that's what it's about. We achieved everything we wanted to - we performed at a good level. We may have lost by one goal but we achieved the main aim that everybody had a good time and had fun. But we didn't make the most of all the chances we had."

7. NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

STORY: Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre hailed his side's win against Slavia Prague on Tuesday (December 10), saying they had qualified in one of the most difficult groups.

Dortmund beat Slavia 2-1 with goals from Jadon Sancho and Julian Brandt to advance to the Champions League knockout stage, leaving Italian side Inter Milan in third place of Group F.

The win put the Germans, who also had keeper Roman Buerki to thank with more than half a dozen sensational saves, on 10 points in second place, three ahead of Inter who lost 2-1 to already-qualified group winners Barcelona.

Sancho put the hosts ahead in the 10th and Dortmund could have added at least two more when Marco Reus twice had only keeper Ondrej Kolar to beat but was denied on both occasions.

With the Germans having to better Inter's result against Barca to advance, the Czechs gradually found space and forced keeper Buerki to three outstanding saves, including an off-balance one-handed one, in the first half.

But he was well beaten when Tomas Soucek completed a lightning-quick attack in the 43rd to level.

The Germans recovered after the break and Brandt thumped in their second goal from a tight angle in the 61st to somewhat settle their nerves.

But they again needed Buerki's fine form to deny the Czechs another equaliser as the visitors' pressure mounted following the dismissal of Dortmund's Julian Weigl with a second booking in the 77th.

Slavia coach Jindrich Trpisovsky said his team had achieved everything it wanted with a good performance.