Peter Bosz acknowledged that Bayern Munich were deserved winners of Saturday's Klassiker as Borussia Dortmund slumped to a third defeat in four league matches in a 3-1 loss.
Dortmund, who are now six points adrift of Bayern having led by five points after match week seven, were 3-0 down thanks to goals from Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and David Alaba.
Marc Bartra scored a late consolation goal at Signal Iduna Park, but head coach Bosz felt his side paid the price for failing to stick to their game plan.
"Bayern were the clear superior team, especially in the first half," he said in quotes reported by Bayern's official website.
"We had planned to play very compact, but that did not work out.
"In the second half, we showed that we can [compete]."
Dortmund midfielder Gonzalo Castro echoed Bosz's sentiments and rued Dortmund's failure in front of goal.
"We were not as good in the first half as in the second. Nevertheless, we had two, three crystal clear chances where we have to make it 1-1," he said.
"In the second half we tried everything, we had the chance to make it 2-1, then it gets exciting again.
"These are times when we have to stand together as a team. "
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