Borussia Dortmund has rehabilitated itself on the big European stage after the defeat against Bayern in the Bundesliga. In the win against Newcastle United, coach Edin Terzic saw “a very good performance from the entire team”.
In the end, the sobering defeat in the home game against Bayern Munich was perhaps nothing more than an annoying industrial accident. In a company where things are actually going well this season. The 2-0 win against Newcastle on Tuesday evening in the Champions League may have put worries about deficits to rest for the time being.
From defeat to gala performance in just four days
Mats Hummels was great, Nico Schlotterbeck was convincing as an asset, central defender Niklas Süle was very solid in the wing position, Niclas Füllkrug was outstanding at the start and finish to make it 1-0 and Karim Adeyemi, who was very happy to run, initiated a strong counterattack to make it 2-0 by Julian Brandt. In short: In just four days, Dortmund managed to put a disastrous league performance into the background with a gala performance in the premier class.
It was a very good performance from back to front.
The bitter defeat against Munich can hardly be forgotten – even if Brandt said after the win against the English that he would try to do exactly that. But when you are top of the table after four matchdays in a strong Champions League group with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle, there is little room for major doubts about the quality of a team.
Füllkrug scores for the first time in the European Cup
After a weak start in Group F, which was rated as particularly difficult, against Paris (0:2) and Milan (0:0), Terzic’s team has a good starting position in the fight for thanks to Füllkrug’s first European Cup goal and Brandt’s goal made it to the round of 16.
Two blows to the neck in a row could have turned into a problem for BVB. “I’m very pleased that we didn’t fall into a hole and ruin a lot of things this season due to a bad phase,” said a relieved Brandt.
Round of 16 is within reach for BVB
Nothing is “messed up” at the moment. In the league they are seven points behind leaders Leverkusen, but that can certainly be made up for in the remaining 24 match days. In the DFB Cup, unlike record champions Bayern Munich, they are in the round of 16, and on the European stage the knockout phase is within reach.
I think some of the criticism we received on Saturday needs to be revised today.
“Now we have it in our own hands and we don’t want to let it be taken away from us,” says BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl, looking ahead to the royal round of 16. “Considering that many had already written us off after two games, things are looking pretty good now,” said Brandt.
Füllkrug urges humility and reminds us to do homework
After the Bayern game, it seems impossible that BVB will lose their grip on the ground because of this. Experienced players like Füllkrug will also ensure this. The 30-year-old gives the route for upcoming tasks such as the away game at VfB Stuttgart next Saturday: “Show humility, work, work and do your homework.”
BVB impressively demonstrated what well-done homework looks like with Füllkrug’s debut goal in the European Cup: “We actually almost lose the ball twice, but we are always greedier than the opponent,” said Füllkrug. Terzic also sees the opening goal against Newcastle as an example: “When you see how we fight for the ball – that’s exactly what we’ve been missing in the last few days.”
If they add three more points against Stuttgart before the next league break on Saturday, “then things didn’t go perfectly between the international breaks, but they were still good,” said Brandt. The space for criticism would continue to shrink.