Erling Haaland felt little desire for a quick goodbye. On the way to the team bus, where his Manchester City team-mates were already waiting impatiently for him, the Norwegian paused for a moment after countless small talk, autographs and selfies.
Regardless of the many TV cameras in front of which BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was giving information about his saved penalty, he kissed the puzzled former teammate on the cheek.
Although Haaland exceptionally failed to score in the entertaining zero number of the English champions in Dortmund and was substituted at half-time, the return to the old place of work gave him visible pleasure. Not only the warm welcome from the fans, who gave him applause after the final whistle, contributed to this. The result also ensured a harmonious cooperation.
Terzic: “Deserve to move into the knockout stages”
Finally, Manchester made the group win with the 0-0 and Dortmund made it into the round of 16 perfect. BVB coach Edin Terzic looked very proud: “That was a really good performance – not just today, but in all five group games. We deserve to make it into the knockout stages.”
Midfielder Jude Bellingham felt the same: “I don’t think many teams have kept a clean sheet against Manchester City this season. We’re very happy because we managed to draw and we can continue our journey.”
Two weeks after the criticism about the playful first match point for the early round of 16 qualification against Sevilla (1: 1), BVB took the second chance. Even Mats Hummels, who recently made headlines with repeated and public scolding for the team, saw no reason to complain this time and played a leading role in Borussia’s convincing performance: “If I criticize, you have to expect me to lead the way . But a lot of people really threw themselves in today,” said the Dortmund defense chief, who was voted “Man of the match”, and even included an attacker he had recently scolded in his praise: “I would particularly like to highlight Karim Ademyi. He worked like a bull.”
Kobel: “It’s important that we’ve rewarded ourselves this time”
But without the rescue of Kobel, who parried a penalty from Riyad Mahrez in the 58th minute, BVB would have gone empty-handed against the star ensemble – as in the close and unfortunate 1-2 defeats in the last three games.
“It was important that we rewarded ourselves this time. I’m happy that I was able to help the team,” commented the BVB goalkeeper. The hero of the evening saw the remarkable draw against the title favorites as an encouraging sign for the rest of the season: “It shows what our team is capable of.”
