Borussia Dortmund confident ahead of Europa League visit to Porto - 7M sport

Borussia Dortmund confident ahead of Europa League visit to Porto



Posted Thursday, February 25, 2016 by ESPN

Borussia Dortmund confident ahead of Europa League visit to Porto
With a 2-0 lead on aggregate, Borussia Dortmund will fancy their chances of advancing to the last 16 of the Europa League.

On Wednesday, Borussia Dortmund travelled to Porto for the second leg of the Europa League round of 32 to be played on Thursday night. The Germans bring a 2-0 advantage into the return leg at the Estadio do Dragao and are the clear favourite to prevail from the tie.

Dortmund have answered the question whether they would take the Europa League seriously after a rocky group stage campaign with an unambiguous "Yes".

BVB coach Thomas Tuchel said before the match that his team had to make the Europa League their competition. The home leg against FC Porto left very little doubt about the intent of the Black and Yellows, with their demonstration of power against the Portuguese side at the Westfalenstadion.

The narrow 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday put to rest any doubt that Borussia Dortmund mean business in the Europa League, as Tuchel fielded a heavily rotated starting XI to rest key-players Marcel Schmelzer, Julian Weigl, Marco Reus and Nuri Sahin for the looming return leg on Thursday.

That BVB managed to win away to Leverkusen with their B-team is only a bonus, as second place has long been locked up in the Bundesliga for the Westphalians. The 15-point-gap to third place in the German division only encourages Dortmund to focus primarily on their European nights instead.

And Borussia Dortmund will have to bring their A-game once again on Thursday against FC Porto, who will look to present themselves in a better light than in one-sided opening fixture in Dortmund.

The return of three key players will help Porto coach Jose Peseiro to field a team that will try everything to turn the tie around. Right-back Maxi Pereira and pivotal central midfielder Danilo Pereira return from suspension, while centre-back Marcona overcame his injury, which will allow Porto to play a more comfortable shape again, after having to make do with makeshift back four at the Westfalenstadion.

The Portuguese team certainly do not lack confidence and fully believe in their comeback chances at the "do Dragao." Peseiro was quoted in Wednesday's news conference that his team will fight until the end, hoping to be backed by their supporters, and believing in the underdog's eternal war cry that everything is possible in football.

Yet, Borussia Dortmund have no reason to be intimidated by Porto's home advantage, Peseiro's full-strength starting XI or Porto's prominent history in European competitions. Dortmund have simply been too strong in the recent weeks to head into the return leg with concern.

While Borussia Dortmund did not annihilate their opposition with dazzling attacking football, they claimed their successes with a more sensible approach. Tuchel has shifted the balance of his team to a more defensive-minded approach to withstand the many challenges in February.

Instead of pushing both full-backs deep into the opponent's territory to gain width and another attacking option, Dortmund's full-backs have played a more defensively in recent weeks -- predominantly in the form of right-back Lukasz Piszczek, who sits deep in a back-three while BVB are in possession, allowing the left-back to move up the field.

That tactical alignment has lowered the risk of conceding from counterattacks, which had been Dortmund's biggest weak spot in the first half of the season. The attacking output masked the defensive frailties quite well, but the Black and Yellows saw themselves trailing 13 times in 30 matches of the Hinrunde and only managed nine clean sheets. But Tuchel understood that having to battle back from falling behind while playing twice a week would be a big issue.

Hence, BVB's decrease in goals has seen them go perfect in five out of seven times since the turn of the year, while they are yet to fall behind in 2016. Gaining solidity at the back is especially important for Dortmund's Europa League ambitions, since the defence wins championships -- as the old sports cliche goes.

Completely suffocating Porto's attack barring one chance that fell for Hyun-Jun Suk is something Dortmund can build on in the second leg. Whether Tuchel opts for another dominant approach or a more counter-attacking setup remains to be seen, but either way his team has proven that they possess the necessary maturity and skill to grab results.

They have another chance to underline that steadfastness in Portugal, even if the hosts do take the lead and push on for a second in a heated match; Borussia Dortmund can be expected to keep their calm. Tuchel almost has a full squad to choose from, as Ilkay Gundogan has returned after a week of illness. The coach only has to make do without centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who pulled a hamstring on Sunday against Leverkusen and will be ruled out for three weeks. With Neven Subotic and Sven Bender, the latter extending his contract until 2021 on Tuesday, Tuchel has two reliable options to choose from.

With Gundogan and Sahin entering into the equation for the first time since Tuchel took over, Dortmund supporters will be eager to see how the Dortmund coach will form his midfield in a match that still holds importance.

It's the flexibility in personnel and tactical setups that make Borussia Dortmund an unpredictable force in the Europa League. Cracking BVB's defence will be tough enough for FC Porto, all the while knowing that one goal for the guests will put the tie to bed -- but nothing is impossible in football.



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