Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Mats Hummels denies asking to be substituted in final Dortmund game

Mats Hummels denied Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel's claim he had asked to be substituted during the DFB Pokal final and said he felt "extremely bitter" that he could not complete his final match for the club.

Hummels, 27, captained Dortmund in the DFB Pokal final against Bayern Munich on Saturday ahead of his summer switch to the Allianz Arena, but he was replaced by Matthias Ginter 78 minutes into the penalty shootout defeat.

The Germany international, who has spent eight-and-a-half years with Dortmund, was one of several BVB players to suffer from cramp over the course of the game and Tuchel said after the game that the centre-back had requested that he be substituted.

"Mats asked to come off," a tight-lipped Tuchel told reporters at his postmatch news conference when asked about the reasons for the substitution.

Hummels had admitted before the game against his future employers that he was under "immense pressure" and, despite a solid overall display at the Olympiastadion, he lost the ball on several occasions when Dortmund had the chance to break away on a counter-attack.

Asked about Hummels' performance, Tuchel paused before saying: "He can do better."

Hummels, whose overall passing accuracy was 75 percent, later said he had not sought to be replaced.

"When I want to be substituted, there's a clear signal from me," Hummels said.

He watched on from the bench as BVB lost 4-3 on penalties after the match was tied at 0-0 following the 120 minutes' regular play, and he said: "It's extremely bitter, especially that I was not able to go the full distance.

"It could have been a perfect farewell, but several things did not turn as we were hoping for."

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