Borussia Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre remains upbeat about his team's qualification chances, despite their loss to Inter in the Champions League.

Dortmund left Milan emptyhanded after going down 2-0 to hosts Inter in Group F action on Wednesday.

Favre's side succumbed to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Antonio Candreva at San Siro, where Inter leapfrogged Dortmund into second position on goal difference.

Inter and Dortmund are level on four points after three matchdays, three points adrift of leaders Barcelona.

Reflecting on the match, Favre – whose position has reportedly come into question amid Jose Mourinho being linked to his job – said: "We played well; in the first half we were very solid, too bad that we conceded that first goal.

"Except for that, it was okay. We didn't have lots of chances but played rather well. We waited patiently and avoided counterattacks. We had a clear chance which we should have done better with.

"We went in at the break a goal down, then had a couple of chances before they made it 2-0. We should have done better with those chances.

"It was our plan to play a compact game and press them in the right moment. We cannot expect to have 10 chances against this team. It is a difficult group, but everything is still possible."

Dortmund are fourth in the Bundesliga and only one point off the pace after their win over leaders Borussia Monchengladbach last week.

However, Favre – who saw Dortmund finish runners-up to Bayern Munich last season after surrendering a lead atop the table – has still been criticised in Germany.

"Some things were missing, we did not get bodies into the box," Dortmund general manager Sebastian Kehl said, in quotes published on UEFA.com. "Nevertheless, we didn't necessarily have to lose 2-0 today.

"The coach had an idea how to change things, it did work out quite well, we did not allow them a lot, but we were asleep for the opener. I don't think the tactical set-up was the problem."