WHY DID THEY MAKE US PLAY?
Germans are furious after heartless UEFA force them to play 24 hours on from blast
BORUSSIA DORTMUND head coach Thomas Tuchel slammed UEFA’s decision to force them to play their quarter-final first leg with Monaco yesterday – via a text message.
And he insisted his side were not in the right frame of mind as the French side took the edge in the tie after a thriller.
The Bundesliga outfit took to the field less than 24 hours after the original tie was postponed when three explosions went off near their team bus as they made their way to the Westfalenstadion.
The incident left defender Marc Bartra needing surgery on an arm injury.
Tuchel claims it was too soon for the Germans to go into such a big fixture and that they felt ignored by Europe’s governing body. He said: “We weren’t asked at any point. We were informed by text message that UEFA was making this decision.
“A decision made in Switzerland that concerns us directly. We will not forget it.
“A few minutes after this attack, the only question that was asked was, ‘are you ready to play?’. As if we had thrown a beer on our coach.
“At that time, we did not know the reasons for this attack. There is a feeling of helplessness. The date was imposed on us. What we think hasn’t interested anyone.
“Every player has the right to deal with it in his own way. The team did not feel in the mood.
“You need to be ready for such a big game like this.”
Monaco showed little room for sentiment as the Ligue 1 leaders gained the advantage thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s double and a Sven Bender own goal.
Questions were asked whether Dortmund would have been in the right frame of mind.
And after wearing T-shirts supporting stricken team-mate Bartra in the warm-up, their first-half performance proved doubters right as Monaco, who also missed a first-half spot-kick, surged into a two-goal lead.
The second half was a different story and Ousmane Dembele and Shinji Kagawa goals either side of Mbappe’s second left it all to play for ahead of the return leg in the Principality.
Mbappe was in the game from the off and showcased his pace and power as he earned a 17th-minute penalty.
He surged into the penalty area and was fouled by Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who received a booking, but Fabinho dragged his spot-kick well wide of the post.
Dortmund’s reprieve lasted just two minutes, however, as Monaco went ahead in the 19th minute.
Thomas Lemar found himself in space on the left and squared across goal to Mbappe who looked in an offside position.
The striker converted off his thigh without knowing too much about it and the goal stood.
Things got even better for the French side 10 minutes before half-time as they doubled the lead when Andrea Raggi’s delivery from the left was diverted into his own net by the hapless Bender.
After several near misses, Dortmund got back into the game just before the hour when Dembele fired into an empty net after neat play by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kagawa.
Monaco had a superb chance to restore their two-goal lead when Radamel Falcao rounded keeper Roman Burki but blazed over.
But the Ligue 1 side were not so wasteful in 79 minutes as Mbappe intercepted Lukasz Pisczek’s pass, raced clear and curled the ball into the top corner.
Kagawa gave Dortmund hope five minutes later with a superb goal and there was almost more late drama when Aubameyang headed over from yards out. But Monaco survived. MANCHESTER UNITED must win the Europa League to realistically hang on to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Friends of the Swedish striker believe he is likely to walk away from Old Trafford this summer if the club again fail to seal Champions League football.
Ibrahimovic, 35, also wants to see clear evidence of United building a team capable of winning the league title next season.
Europa League glory would offer United a guaranteed passage into next season’s Champions League, as would a top-four finish in the Premier League.
But Ibrahimovic’s closest friends acknowledge their mate is not used to being part of a team fighting to finish fourth.
He is a champion and expects a tilt at the title. Over the past 15 years Ibrahimovic has finished with the champions on 13 occasions. In the two seasons of relative failure his club were runners-up.
He is the only player to win 13 titles in four different leagues – the Eredivisie, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1.
The 6ft 4in frontman is also the only player to score in the Champions League with six different clubs.
Ibrahimovic will play in tonight’s quarter-final first leg against Anderlecht. He joined United as a free agent from PSG last summer on a season-long deal, with the option to sign up for a second year.
But the Swede, who has plundered 28 goals this season, has stalled on signing for a second term.
United want him to stay but with lucrative offers on the table from the MLS and the Chinese Super League, Ibrahimovic is giving serious thought to ending his stay in England after just one season.
United skipper Wayne Rooney looks certain to leave this summer after 13 years at Old Trafford and Jose Mourinho can ill-afford to lose Ibrahimovic, with the forward in such impressive, age-defying form.