Dortmund face tough choices after Champions League exit

Erling Haaland walked off the field looking physically and emotionally drained, clutching a shirt he'd been given by an opponent after Borussia Dortmund lost to Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Haaland may have his own City shirt next season.

Dortmund is in danger of failing to qualify for next season's Champions League for the first time since 2010-11, and that could fracture the squad.

The club is in fifth place in the Bundesliga with six games left to make up a seven-point gap for the final Champions League place. With each loss, the chance of seeing Haaland in the yellow and black of Dortmund next season seems to drop further.

Players like Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna didn't choose Dortmund so they could play in the Europa League.

Haaland's agent has already made it clear he is looking at other clubs for his client, and there's no lack of interest. City manager Pep Guardiola raved about the 20-year-old Haaland's talent, and Bellingham's, too, after the win Wednesday in Dortmund. That all raises the question of what Dortmund is trying to achieve.

At its best, the team is exhilarating to watch, the young stars combining with more experienced players such as Marco Reus to produce exciting soccer and challenge for trophies — but never quite win them. At its worst, it's an underperforming team trapped in an endless rebuild as bigger clubs pick off its best players.

The rise of Leipzig means there's now another German club following a Dortmund-style model of focusing on young talent, but with more league success.

Dortmund is making a show of stability. Sporting director Michael Zorc insisted last week that the club plans to keep Haaland in its squad next season. Club officials point to Dortmund's healthy financial position amid the coronavirus pandemic, a relic of past big sales like Ousmane Dembele's move to Barcelona in 2017.

Addressing "the rich clubs in the world," CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told the BBC on Wednesday that Dortmund could not be browbeaten into selling players at a discount.

"They must know this is the price. It is not another price," he said, pointing to last year's prolonged and ultimately fruitless talks with Manchester United over Sancho.

Dortmund has also made some missteps when it comes to coaches. Before he was fired in

December, Lucien Favre's twoyear tenure produced spectacular high-scoring games, but also farcical defensive collapses. Dortmund named Edin Terzic as interim coach and went about seeking a successor, settling on Marco Rose for next season. Since that move was announced in February, though, Rose has won only two of 10 games with Borussia Mönchengladbach while Terzic has won praise for his Dortmund team's combative performance against City.

Dortmund's game against Werder Bremen on Sunday could offer the ideal breather after the Champions League exit. Bremen has lost its last four league games and Dortmund could cut the gap to the top four if third-place Wolfsburg drops points against leader Bayern Munich.

If Dortmund can't beat Bremen, though, a season in the Europa League looks all but certain while Haaland could be back in the Champions League with a City shirt on his back.

No room for error: Atlético must beat Eibar to keep lead

On the schedule, a home match against Eibar is easy to overlook.

But Atlético Madrid's meeting with the league's worst team has become a must-win match in its flagging title bid.

A run of poor results over the past two months has whittled Atlético's once double-digit advantage down to the slimmest of margins. After two straight games without a victory, Real Madrid is now only one point behind and Barcelona is two points behind with eight games left.

Atlético's problem is in attack. Last weekend, the team was held to a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in a game it started without both Luis

Suárez and Marcos Llorente, who were suspended. It also lost playmaker João Félix during the match after he hurt his ankle. Yannick Carrasco got Atlético's goal early in the match, but forward Ángel Correa failed to convert two opportunities that would have snatched a late winner.

Correa will likely lead the attack on Sunday against Eibar with Suárez, who was hurt in practice last week, and Félix both unavailable.

Llorente, who can also play any midfield position as well as wing back, will likely help Correa up front after he completed his onegame suspension for accumulation of yellow cards.

Llorente has scored 10 times in all competitions this season, second only to Suárez and his 19 goals.

Eibar looks like the ideal rival for Atlético to get a desperately needed victory.

Eibar has for several seasons been a tough, middling team thanks to the pressure defense preached by coach José Mendilibar, who insists on recovering the ball in the opposing half to help generate easy goals. But the Basque Country club has struggled to score this season. Eibar's tally of 22 goals is a competition low, tied with Getafe.

Also promising for Atlético, Eibar may be without its best weapon in attack. Bryan Gil, a forward on loan from Sevilla who recently debuted for Spain, is doubtful because of a muscle issue.

Eibar is four points from safety after going winless in 13 straight games.

"It will be the top team versus the team in last place, so it is normal that Atlético is seen as the favorite, but it wouldn't be the first time we take points or even a win from a game like this," Eibar defender Paulo Oliveira said.

If Atlético slips again, Madrid can move to the top of the standings with a win at Getafe, also on Sunday.

The defending champions are soaring after bettering both Barcelona and Liverpool over the past week.

Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 last weekend to overtake its rival in the league standings. On Wednesday, the team advanced to the Champions League semifinals after drawing 0-0 at Anfield following a 3-1 win at home.

Madrid now has a favorable schedule in the league before it faces Chelsea for a spot in Champions League final.