‘We are in position to achieve the impossible’: Marco Reus warns Spurs that Borussia Dortmund are ready to spring a Champions League surprise
- Tottenham Hotspur take a 3-0 lead into their last-16 second leg in Dortmund
- But Borussia Dortmund believe they can pull off a shock in Tuesday night’s game
- Neither team is in form going into match, with Dortmund winning one in six
- Manager Lucien Favre encouraged Jadon Sancho to work hard amid tough spell
Marco Reus warned Tottenham that Borussia Dortmund have rewritten history many times in the passionate atmosphere of the Westfalenstadion and they are out to do it again.
Spurs lead 3-0 after the first leg of this Champions League last-16 tie and have an eye on a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2011.
But Dortmund are taking inspiration from their illustrious past and in particular a 4-0 home win against Atletico Madrid in the group stage of this season’s competition.
Marco Reus has told Tottenham that Borussia Dortmund are ready to write history on Tuesday
‘We have played many games in this stadium where we’ve written history and we are in position to achieve the impossible,’ said Germany striker Reus.
‘It is important to believe in ourselves, and give a great performance. We need to find the right balance between defence and attack. We need to reach our peak, and score the goals in the right moment. But we believe in ourselves.’
Tottenham have not won in three games since the first leg at Wembley but Dortmund have also hit poor form, with only one win in six games which has enabled Bayern Munich to close the gap at the top of the Bundesliga.
Reus was open about Dortmund not being happy with results after one win in six matches
‘We’re not satisfied with results at the moment,’ said 29-year-old Reus. ‘Generally, we are in a good situation, especially in the Bundesliga, but in the last few weeks we’ve lost unnecessary points because we made too many mistakes.
‘It is important to be positive and really work hard and stop the mistakes because we know we can always score in attack. We have to be stronger, come out stronger; have the right mentality. We’ve shown that, I think we’ll come out of this situation.’
Two years ago, at the same stage of the Champions League, Dortmund recovered from a first-leg deficit to beat Benfica 4-0 in the second leg and Lucien Favre urged his team to play smart against Spurs.
‘We know we can score goals but we have to be very clever in the way we play,’ said Favre. ‘We have to try to avoid conceding unnecessary goals.
Lucien Favre insisted his team had to play smart and give a ‘top performance’ against Spurs
‘We have to give an absolute top performance. That’s the most important. It is difficult but everything is possible. We have to play clever.’
Matthias Sammer, a former Borussia Dortmund player and coach, claimed on television that Favre’s team were ‘immature’ after a defeat at Augsburg on Friday, comments interpreted by some as a slight against young stars of the team, including England winger Jadon Sancho.
‘I have often spoken to Matthias at the beginning of the season and since,’ said Favre. ‘We have a good understanding. But he is a journalist in those situations and we are a democracy. Everyone can have his opinion.
Favre has encouraged Jadon Sancho to work hard amid a tough run of form for the youngster
‘I have every trust in him. In TV he has a right to say what he can say. It’s not a problem for me. But I did not see the show. So I can’t really judge this.’
On Sancho, the Dortmund boss added: ‘He’s a very good player, a very talented player. He’s 18 and sometimes with 18 it’s up and down. He had played really, really well in first half of season and at the start of second half but he has highs and lows.
‘He has a lot to learn, a lot of potential. But for every player who has talent there is no talent without hard work. Hard work is 90 per cent. Talent is 10 per cent.’