DORTMUND – Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic warned his side that “individual mistakes are punished immediately” by Atletico Madrid, ahead of their Champions League quarter-final, second-leg tie at the Westfalenstadion on April 16.
Dortmund trail 2-1 after the first leg in Madrid, with both goals a result of errors.
“Atletico forced us to make mistakes last week. But tomorrow we have everything in our own hands to advance to the next round,” said Terzic on April 15.
“We know that our opponents are very experienced. Tomorrow we want to do better from the start.
“When you play against Atletico, individual mistakes are punished immediately. We know what must not happen to us tomorrow.
“But the reaction to it is much more important. We are ready to correct mistakes.”
But they will have to do that without Sebastien Haller, who scored a goal late on at the Metropolitano to keep the visitors alive in the tie. However, winger Jadon Sancho is set to return.
Haller was subbed off after just 10 minutes in Dortmund’s 2-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach at the weekend, the Ivory Coast striker’s first league start since September.
Terzic said Haller “needs to rest for a week to get a clearer diagnosis but we assume he’ll definitely be unavailable for two to three weeks”.
The injury continues Haller’s health struggles at Dortmund. The striker missed six months with testicular cancer after signing with the club in the summer of 2022.
This season, he missed several matches with an ankle injury after returning from winning the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.
Dortmund were, however, given a boost with the news that English winger Sancho, who missed the April 13 win over Gladbach, will return.
“Jadon is fit again. He immediately felt better on Sunday and could train yesterday,” said Terzic.
Terzic would not reveal whether Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug or teenager Youssoufa Moukoko would replace Haller up front.
He said: “We’ve got two training sessions and a bit of time to go. We had three players in that position and now we have two.
“In the past we’ve played well with Fullkrug up front, in the past we’ve played well with Moukoko up front – and we’ve done well with both on the field.”
Midfielder Julian Brandt is hoping for help from off the pitch as well, from Dortmund’s famed Yellow Wall.
The Bundesliga side’s trump card is their 80,000-strong Westfalenstadion – Germany’s biggest stadium and one of the largest in European football.
The club have not lost there in the Champions League since November 2021, having faced the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United in that time.
Said Brandt: “The atmosphere here is absolutely unique. The support is always there, the fans never disappoint us.
“All the fans who are here at the stadium on Tuesday know that they are a huge influence for us to go beyond our performance limit.” AFP
