The Prague Post - Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake

EUR -
AED 4.106389
AFN 78.818229
ALL 98.550917
AMD 433.76762
ANG 2.000837
AOA 1025.193701
ARS 1264.990691
AUD 1.739051
AWG 2.012376
AZN 1.902847
BAM 1.949299
BBD 2.260203
BDT 136.007051
BGN 1.953741
BHD 0.421433
BIF 3281.291051
BMD 1.117987
BND 1.451984
BOB 7.735411
BRL 6.304217
BSD 1.119387
BTN 95.396458
BWP 15.198588
BYN 3.663349
BYR 21912.539898
BZD 2.248542
CAD 1.56256
CDF 3208.622173
CHF 0.940914
CLF 0.027421
CLP 1052.283208
CNY 8.056604
CNH 8.0615
COP 4703.090674
CRC 568.514285
CUC 1.117987
CUP 29.626648
CVE 109.89753
CZK 24.929962
DJF 198.68854
DKK 7.461287
DOP 65.793587
DZD 149.010876
EGP 56.334907
ERN 16.769801
ETB 148.624943
FJD 2.538048
FKP 0.842009
GBP 0.842973
GEL 3.063551
GGP 0.842009
GHS 13.919172
GIP 0.842009
GMD 81.051047
GNF 9677.293385
GTQ 8.600013
GYD 234.1932
HKD 8.724383
HNL 28.787736
HRK 7.532325
HTG 146.472851
HUF 403.246684
IDR 18524.425215
ILS 3.973923
IMP 0.842009
INR 95.574505
IQD 1464.562616
IRR 47081.221819
ISK 145.137269
JEP 0.842009
JMD 178.664189
JOD 0.792991
JPY 163.96837
KES 144.782901
KGS 97.768141
KHR 4494.306495
KMF 492.333415
KPW 1006.216549
KRW 1577.423135
KWD 0.343915
KYD 0.932806
KZT 568.693171
LAK 24162.516557
LBP 100171.610611
LKR 334.187045
LRD 223.152685
LSL 20.426169
LTL 3.301124
LVL 0.676259
LYD 6.159823
MAD 10.398955
MDL 19.522246
MGA 5064.480324
MKD 61.487521
MMK 2347.082197
MNT 3999.761415
MOP 8.998553
MRU 44.327796
MUR 51.317926
MVR 17.272916
MWK 1940.825081
MXN 21.672597
MYR 4.805076
MZN 71.444311
NAD 20.425656
NGN 1789.404469
NIO 41.085954
NOK 11.618621
NPR 152.642697
NZD 1.896661
OMR 0.430411
PAB 1.119337
PEN 4.103036
PGK 4.546013
PHP 62.456344
PKR 315.243135
PLN 4.23309
PYG 8937.196171
QAR 4.070147
RON 5.104055
RSD 116.822509
RUB 89.849789
RWF 1603.481383
SAR 4.193169
SBD 9.340069
SCR 15.892258
SDG 671.347602
SEK 10.91131
SGD 1.455255
SHP 0.878562
SLE 25.376455
SLL 23443.622963
SOS 638.930361
SRD 40.695273
STD 23140.068094
SVC 9.794512
SYP 14535.732744
SZL 20.425489
THB 37.363512
TJS 11.602416
TMT 3.918543
TND 3.380239
TOP 2.618436
TRY 43.356081
TTD 7.576868
TWD 33.936376
TZS 3017.928064
UAH 46.472623
UGX 4089.362762
USD 1.117987
UYU 46.764051
UZS 14522.647288
VES 104.378209
VND 28989.395896
VUV 134.301269
WST 3.117582
XAF 653.788437
XAG 0.034758
XAU 0.000351
XCD 3.021415
XDR 0.821315
XOF 643.96075
XPF 119.331742
YER 272.956853
ZAR 20.388668
ZMK 10063.249381
ZMW 29.804408
ZWL 359.991271
  • CMSD

    -0.1300

    22.26

    -0.58%

  • JRI

    -0.1100

    12.77

    -0.86%

  • CMSC

    -0.0950

    21.965

    -0.43%

  • SCS

    -0.1700

    10.54

    -1.61%

  • BCE

    -0.7200

    21.26

    -3.39%

  • BCC

    -2.9700

    90.74

    -3.27%

  • NGG

    -0.1000

    67.43

    -0.15%

  • RBGPF

    0.8100

    63.81

    +1.27%

  • RIO

    -0.2400

    62.03

    -0.39%

  • GSK

    -0.1300

    36.22

    -0.36%

  • BTI

    -0.1400

    40.55

    -0.35%

  • AZN

    -1.4900

    66.23

    -2.25%

  • RELX

    0.6600

    53.06

    +1.24%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1700

    10.53

    -1.61%

  • BP

    -0.2000

    30.36

    -0.66%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    9.04

    -0.22%

Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake
Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake / Photo: Pau BARRENA - AFP

Disappointed Dortmund chase consistency with Europe at stake

Champions League finalists less than a year ago, Borussia Dortmund host Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Sunday hoping to keep their chances of European qualification alive.

Text size:

Dortmund sit eighth in the league, six points off fourth spot with five games remaining.

Having endured their worst domestic season in a decade, Dortmund's sudden drop-off becomes even more perplexing against the backdrop of their stellar showing against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Dortmund ran Barcelona ragged, beating the Catalonians 3-1, with Serhou Guirassy scoring a hat-trick. Two further goals were chalked off for offside.

Dortmund's fate was however sealed after a poor showing in the first leg, when they lost 4-0.

Just like last year when they stumbled to fifth in the league while beating Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Newcastle and PSV Eindhoven on the way to Wembley, Dortmund's ambitions are frustrated by their inconsistency.

Missing the Champions League would have huge repercussions for Dortmund, a club heavily reliant on European income.

Only once since winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jurgen Klopp in 2010 and 2011 have Dortmund missed out on the Champions League.

A symbol of the club's inconsistency is centre-back Niklas Suele. A 2020 Champions League winner with Bayern, Suele was signed to anchor Dortmund's defence but has only periodically reproduced his top form.

Speaking after the Barcelona match, Suele was at a loss to explain Dortmund's unpredictability.

"The question we face is why don't we play like that in a Bundesliga match? That's something we need to ask ourselves again before we play Gladbach, so we can put in a similar showing.

"We have an incredible amount of quality, that's not up for debate. The sheer determination we showed today, the way we put a team like Barcelona – one of the best teams in Europe – under so much pressure.

We definitely have to accept the criticism about our inconsistency. But we're searching for solutions, we talk about it every day."

Sitting two points ahead of Dortmund, Gladbach are also in the mix for a European spot. A win on Saturday could send Dortmund as high as sixth and within striking distance of the top four, in the season's final stages.

At the top of the table, Bayern Munich can soothe the disappointment after Wednesday's Champions League exit by taking a step closer to the title with a win at Heidenheim.

Bayern sit six points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, with five games remaining.

For Leverkusen, nothing short of a Bayern collapse will keep their dreams alive of defending their title.

While such a collapse is unlikely, it is not unprecedented -- although it does not make for happy reading for Leverkusen fans. In 2001-02, Leverkusen were five points ahead with three games remaining but lost two of their last three to finish second.

One to watch: Steffen Baumgart (Union Berlin)

Coach Steffen Baumgart and his Union Berlin charges can take the final step to ensuring top-division football next season with a win on Saturday against Stuttgart at home.

As a former Union player, Baumgart's signing was criticised as a 'jobs for the boys' appointment, but the 53-year-old has turned things around in Koepenick.

Union picked up 11 points in a five-game unbeaten run against Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and Freiburg.

"We want to play our own game successfully like we did last time," Baumgart said on Thursday, adding "perhaps we'll take that final, difficult step."

Key stats

11 in 12 - Bayern Munich have won 11 of the past 12 Bundesliga titles.

Four in a row - Wolfsburg have lost their last four, leaving their European hopes hanging by a thread.

23 - Harry Kane has 23 league goals, six clear of second-placed Patrik Schick.

Fixtures (1330 GMT unless stated)

Saturday

Heidenheim v Bayern Munich, Mainz v Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen v Bochum, Freiburg v Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig v Holstein Kiel, Union Berlin v Stuttgart (1630)

Sunday

Augsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1530), St Pauli v Bayer Leverkusen (1730)

J.Marek--TPP