Without Sancho And The Doubtful Reus And Hummels, Dortmund Are Determined To Carve Out A Beautiful Story Against Manchester City
JAKARTA - Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic insists his team is determined to carve out a beautiful story when they host Manchester City in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at Signal Iduna Park in Germany on Wednesday local time (Thursday, western Indonesia time).
Dortmund entered the game with the burden of turning things around after losing 1-2 to City a week ago. Terzic stated that they will try to correct the mistakes they made in the previous match.
"We want to pay for the team's mistakes. We will try to improve some aspects of the game and send the strongest team on the pitch tomorrow," Terzic said, as quoted by Antara from Dortmund's official website on Wednesday.
"It's about showing an amazing performance tomorrow, so we can carve out a beautiful story," he added.
According to Terzic, Dortmund actually performed relatively well at the Etihad last week, although they still had to go home with a defeat.
Moreover, at the Etihad Dortmund suffered a disservice from referee Ovidiu Hategan who awarded Jude Bellingham's goal, condemning the English talent for fouling City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes.
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"A good game does not necessarily make us qualify for the next round. We have to be ready to go beyond our performances in Manchester," he said.
Unfortunately, Dortmund's burden grew heavier as Jadon Sancho had to miss the second leg due to injury.
On the other hand, captain Marco Reus and experienced defender Mats Hummels are still in question, given both had to be pulled out due to injury when Dortmund faced VfB Stuttgart in the German League last weekend.
"It would be a big loss if he couldn't play tomorrow," defender Manuel Akanji said commenting on Reus's situation.
"He's our captain and knows what this team needs to be able to move on to the next round," he said.
On paper, a 1-0 win was enough for Dortmund to escape, but it was a challenge considering City is one of the top scorers in both the English and European domestic scenes.