Dortmund looking for direction
BORUSSIA Dortmund have returned to winning ways just in time at the start of a gruelling three-week period, with seven matches against top teams in all competitions.
Dortmund beat Bundesliga leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-0 on Saturday to move within one point of the top again, ending a run of three successive 2-2 draws in the league.
Next up is a difficult trip to Inter Milan in the Champions League today, followed by the famous league derby with Schalke, a German cup trip to Gladbach, a Bundesliga date with second-placed Wolfsburg, the return match against Inter and a November 9 Bundesliga summit against champions Bayern Munich.
“The next few weeks will be turbulent, we face many good teams in a short space of time;” said forward Julian Brand.
“That will show the direction in which we are heading. It’s a good sign to win a game like this,” Brand said in reference to the Gladbach win.
Marco Reus, who scored Saturday’s winner, will not feature in Milan owing to a bout of flu.
The self-proclaimed Bundesliga title contenders had looked surprisingly vulnerable in the three previous draws.
While Dortmund are well-placed in a tightly packed Bundesliga where the top nine are separated by just two points, the two matches against Inter could be crucial to reaching the knock-out stages in tough Group F that also features Barcelona and Slavia Prague.
Dortmund and Barca have four points each, with Inter and Slavia on one each, meaning that Dortmund could already take a big step towards the last 16 with victory at the San Siro.
“The outcome of the game can be deciding for the outcome in the Champions League,” said defender Manuel Akanji.
Dortmund won 2-1 in their last trip to Inter in 1994, but that didn’t help them as they went out 4-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup q uarterfinals. Inter were also on top in their only other tie, 4-2 on aggregate in the 1964 Champions Cup semis.
Inter are without a win in their last six Champions League matches and have lost their last four European home matches against German opposition. Dortmund hope to make that five German wins at the San Siro, and coach Lucien Favre is expected to field Jadon Sancho again after he was dropped from the Gladbach match squad and fined for returning late from international duty.
Reus and injured forward Paco Alcacer were not aboard in yesterday’s flight to Milan, while goalkeeper Roman Buerki may recover in time from a knee capsule sprain.
Regardless of who eventually is on the pitch, club officials have urged that the players deliver again after ending the negative trend against Gladbach.