The German press have delivered a damning verdict on Borussia Dortmund’s performance aganst Rangers last night.
Whilst their recent form suggested that a clean sheet was unlikely, this was a result that no one expected. The home fans were stunned, the away end erupted and the BVB players were left shellshocked at the Westfalenstadion as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers secured a historic win.
For the champions of Scotland, it was a night to remember but there is work still to be done at Ibrox next week.
However, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Following Champions League disappointment, Dortmund were very happy with their Europa League draw. Surely a tie against Rangers would be the start of a path to the late stages of the competition? Hold on, now they are on the edge of the trap door after an entralling game in the Ruhr with six goals shared.
Soccer Football – Europa League – Play Off First Leg – Borussia Dortmund v Rangers – Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany – February 17, 2022 Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels reacts after the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
Over in Germany, the press reaction as expected has been very strong toward Marco Rose and his side. In a nation that takes it’s football seriously, they don’t expect to be thumped at home by clubs from the likes of Scotland. It just ‘shouldn’t’ happen.
Ok, no Haaland. But Reus, Brandt, Witsel, Hummels and the rest just did not get anywhere near a likely repeat of their 3-0 win against Union Berlin last Sunday.
Instead, the headlines stated ’embarrassment’, ‘debacle’, ‘nonsense football’ – read all about it below.
🇩🇪 As expected, the response in Germany to BVB's performance is scathing.
BILD – This is embarrassing. Debacle pic.twitter.com/zU7t6WbTOc
— Graeme Hanna (@graeme818) February 18, 2022
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (Local Dortmund paper)
Embarrassing. Broke against Rangers. BVB facing Europa League exit pic.twitter.com/JId79n1OGk
— Graeme Hanna (@graeme818) February 18, 2022