BVB coach Terzic praises Karim Adeyemi and feels for Marco Reus

Match winner “finally arrived”

Borussia Dortmund’s coach Edin Terzic expects international striker Karim Adeyemi to regularly play decisive games in the future. The view of Marco Reus is less rosy for the BVB coach.

“We just hope that it’s not just a knot that’s broken, but that it’s a consistent performance from him. Because then he will help us to achieve our goals,” said Terzic on Wednesday evening after the 1-0 (0-0) win in the Champions League round of 16 first leg against Chelsea. The 21-year-old Adeyemi had decided the duel with a successful high-speed solo (63rd minute) over more than half the pitch. “Today I had goosebumps from the first minute,” said the 30 million euro match winner after the game.

The young star came to Revier from Red Bull Salzburg last summer with great expectations and still had problems at BVB in the first few months. Adeyemi has only scored two goals in 15 Bundesliga games so far. “We must not forget that he is still a young guy,” said Terzic and also recalled Adeyemi’s injuries after his move. Especially after his return from the World Cup in Qatar, he worked hard on himself. “He reported back very diligently after the World Cup. He really put his foot down there,” said Terzic. “Now he’s finally arrived. He’s doing it really, really well at the moment. We can only hope that he stays healthy and continues like this.”

BVB coach Terzic: Reus “must respect it, but not accept it”

After Reus’ reserve role in the round of 16, Terzic felt with his captain. “Of course I’m deeply sorry. But it’s not just about Marco. We had other guys who weren’t substituted on,” said Terzic. The 48-time national player, who was last in the league in the starting eleven after his injury break, was not used in the game.

“Today it was really difficult to change. We didn’t want to change that much because we had the feeling it would fit quite well,” said Terzic after the win, which gave BVB a good starting position for the second leg in London. Terzic now expects a reaction to the reservist role from the 33-year-old Reus. “I think he has to respect it, but not accept it,” said the 40-year-old coach. “In training and in the next few games, when he plays, he can show that he doesn’t accept it.”

Reus handled his decision very professionally, just like the ex-world champion Mats Hummels, who was not taken into account. “At that moment he has to respect it like everyone else and that’s extremely important,” said Terzic. Reus did that “totally”. Terzic also explicitly praised the support provided by the substitutes during the game and their motivation during the training session for the reserves after the final whistle.

Adeyemi starts running, who wants to do what? #DAZNmoment #UCL #BVBCHE pic.twitter.com/xwtHMq2SCW

— DAZN DE (@DAZN_DE) February 15, 2023

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