Borussia Dortmund He brought three German international centre-backs to Stamford Bridge and in the end, none of them were playing centre-back. He was replaced by Marco Reus and Emre Can. Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck were deployed higher up the pitch, their heights deployed as auxiliary defenders in a desperate search for a comeback. mats He was the busiest substitute in technical areas, partly as an assistant manager, partly as a wannabe fourth official.
Hummels at least played bigger Champions League Games in London. He and Reus are survivors of the 2013 final, even as the defender later joins Bayern Munich by following the increasingly familiar route south. 10pearl The anniversary of the last defeat to Bayern in 2013 falls on May, and this is the 21st.st Century Dortmund go will probably stay in better shape for a while. After about 20 months, Jurgen Klopp It was the end of the Bundesliga; would push the road to continental victory, but not black and yellow. The economy dictated otherwise: both in Bayern’s hiring strategy focused on weakening their rivals, and in the wider European setting, where Dortmund’s massive audience has not made them one of the super-rich.
Fast forward ten years and maybe money talked as they went out chelsea. Manager Edin Terzic adopted an uncomplaining tone. “They didn’t (just) spend money,” he reasoned. “They brought quality players” Of course, easier to do with a big budget.
But a club with only half its capacity paid a £600m fee last year alone. Chelsea signed Womb Sterling Dortmund sold out in the summer Erling Haland; If the Norwegian had not joined Manchester City, perhaps Sterling would not have been allowed to leave and he scored the first goal. The second came from a German but when Kai HavertzIts price soared in the stratosphere in 2020, its buyers were never likely to be Dortmund.
The probability that they can pay instead Jude Bellingham and this was definitely his last Champions League match for Dortmund. Terzic ruined the teenager’s chances of poking from six feet; With Bellingham’s colours, his European career ended in a mistimed move that brought Reece James an injury-time penalty. He probably deserved a better ending, but with such a wealth of suitors Dortmund’s place in football’s food chain will have a better chance of winning this competition.
Dortmund’s last record is currently in a quarter-final appearance in six years; The only teams Klopp have lost in the Champions League knockout rounds since reaching the finals are Zenit St. Petersburg, Sevilla and Benfica. Chelsea would have had a bigger scalp. “I think both teams deserve to go to the next round but tonight Chelsea are scoring two goals and we are not getting it,” said Terzic.
“Both legs were very tight, and every second inch and moment you decide whether to move on to the next lap. There were some moments today where we were a bit unlucky.” The most obvious replay penalty felt. Terzic was too diplomatic to appeal the decision after Ben Chilwell was most raped because Kai Havertz missed at the start. His decision to let the German pilot make a second move. Bellingham, who branded it as “a joke”, was more outspoken.
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But there are different forms of misfortune. While Julian Ryerson, who had set a 100 percent win record in his short career at Dortmund, was absent due to suspension, his injury deprived them of Chelsea’s first-game foe, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, and Karim Adeyemi, whose scorching speed brought them a win at Signal. Iduna Park. Five minutes later, Julian Brandt limped off. “Julian Brandt, Kobel and Adeyemi have been three key players in recent weeks,” Terzic said. Sebastian Haller took longer, but his biggest purchase last summer, understandably, hasn’t returned to his best performance after testicular cancer.
Chelsea can win without Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile. They were so rich that man of the match Marc Cucurella hadn’t even been on the bench in their previous three games, and the £88m man Mykhailo Mudryk remained there as an unused substitute, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the team’s striker Dortmund, who scored 141 goals, was not even included in the Champions League squad. . Terzic had no such luxury.
Dortmund almost cleared the gap in resources, but everything had to work out. It is a recurring theme. A team with 10 wins in a row lost to a team in 10 wins.pearl. Too much for Dortmund, not enough for Chelsea. Terzic’s flawless record in 2023 put them on par with Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga, until his team came to England and suffered their first setback since the World Cup.
They haven’t carried Germany’s established superpower to the Bundesliga title since Klopp’s heyday. Once again, as the rich get richer, luck seems to be stacking against them. “We don’t want to compete with Chelsea in the transfer market. We want to do it on the pitch,” added Terzic. Over 180 minutes, they did a good job. But when Bellingham is gone, it will be even harder and even Dortmund is not very healthy for football when they are so weak on the balance sheet.