22nd matchday
Berlin (dpa) – When it comes to one topic, they only wave at Borussia Dortmund: How is it going after the sovereign 3-0 win at 1. FC Union Berlin and Bayern’s slip in Bochum in the title race?
“I actually thought I wouldn’t get the question,” said coach Marco Rose in Berlin. “Now I’m getting it for the third time and all I can say is that with the feeling of the week we’ve had, we know that we should look after ourselves first and foremost.” You have to become more stable and constant.
Master race not an issue
In the DAZN interview, double goal scorer Marco Reus almost begged the moderator Laura Wontorra to omit the master topic. “Don’t ask the question anymore,” he said. Instead, it is important to enjoy the victory sometimes. After the game, the team stepped up to the fans who had traveled with them and thanked them with a wave. Exuberant cheering was sought in vain among Borussia. It looked more like duty done.
The gap in the Bundesliga with six points is still too big, the memory of your own performance in the 2: 5 against Bayer Leverkusen a week ago is too fresh. Rose attested to his team that they defended “very passionately, disciplined and maturely” in Berlin in the second half. That wasn’t always the case this season.
Defender Mats Hummels didn’t want to know anything about a Bayern hunt either. “I think that in order to be able to compete with a team like Bayern in the league, we still have to do more on the pitch. Be really serious, always be focused, be ready to accept fights, then you can maybe dream at some point, but I don’t see that at the moment.”
Now Borussia have a rather unusual task ahead of them: instead of Tuesday or Wednesday in the Champions League, they are at home against Glasgow Rangers (6.45 p.m. / RTL +) in the knockout round of the Europa League on Thursday. The Scots are equipped with a lot of speed, especially on the left wing, said Rose. In the home stadium, the Rangers are a force. “But we only have them at home, we have to show them,” said the coach.