Ahead of the upcoming UEFA Champions League group stage home game against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday evening (18:55 CET), head coach Marco Rose and captain Lars Stindl spoke virtually to the media about the upcoming opposition and the three remaining fixtures.
Head coach Marco Rose on…
… team news: Jonas Hofmann (muscle tear) and Ramy Bensebaini (quarantine after positive coronavirus test) will not be available for the Shakhtar game. Alassane Plea, however, has finished quarantine and can train again today. However, as he’s been at home for the past few days and unable to train, we will have to see how training goes.
… the upcoming opponents: The result in the reverse fixture doesn’t affect anything tomorrow. It was a great game from us, but we’ve ticked that off and moved on now. Every game, we have to work for everything. We know that Shakhtar will come out completely differently tomorrow and will try to win the game. They have a lot of quality and are a very good team. They counter well and are hard-working in defence. We’re well aware that it will be a tough task for us. However, we also know that we’re in good form and are going in the right direction here at home. Of course, we want to win this game.
… Shakhtar’s team: A lot has changed for them since the last time we played. Taras Stepanenko has returned in defensive midfield – a very important player for Shakhtar. Marlos plays ahead of him. They have a lot of quality in their team. Currently they’re not as strong at left back and centre back, but that doesn’t change what we’re up against. On the other hand however, we have some good footballers too.
… the position going into the game: We’ve played three games and the situation is what it is. Tomorrow’s game against Shakhtar remains an important one for us, regardless of how the group looks. We want to win this game and that’s all that matters. We shouldn’t be focussing on anything else that could distract us. What matters against Shakhtar is our performance on the field, and in the Champions League you need a top performance, no matter who you play. After the game, we can talk about whether we’ve made a step forwards.
… the current situation given the Coronavirus pandemic: Corona is an issue for everyone. We all have to get by with it and are therefore all affected by it. However I think in professional football, we’re well positioned to deal with it, given the regular testing and the regulation from the authorities. I have a lot of faith in everyone who is playing their part and those who are making the decisions. I think we’ve been able to show that chains of infections happen, but not because of our behaviour. Nevertheless, every club has to do without players at some point. It’s not easy, but we’re all affected. At the moment, we have to expect that one or two players will be unavailable, but another player will always be there to step in. We have to take the situation for what it is.
… Breel Embolo: When an attacker misses two chances, people will start talking about him. Breel had a fantastic game for Switzerland against Germany, up until his injury. After his injury, he was always working hard to come back and returned quickly to push himself for the team. Last weekend against Augsburg, he did well on many occasions and created goalscoring chances. At the end of the day, attackers are judged on goals. So far Breel hasn’t scored but I’m sure that if he keeps it up, the goals will come. We’re working on that and talk to him a lot. He is an important player for us.
Captain Lars Stindl on…
… the game against Shakhtar: We want to win the game. Our last home victory in the Champions League was five years ago against Sevilla – now it’s time to record another one. In the first three group stage games we have shown that we can compete and three weeks ago in Ukraine we delivered a top performance. Tomorrow however will be a completely different game.
… the remaining three games of the Group Stage: Of course, we know that we’ve put ourselves in a good position from the opening three games. We’re very ambitious, even despite being in a strong group. Now we’re halfway through and want to achieve something special from it. We don’t need any extra motivation; we’re motivated and focussed on each individual game. Right now, the focus is completely on the Shakhtar game. As a team we have the feeling that we can pull off something against such teams in the Champions League. If we can show the quality that we have on the pitch, I’m convinced that we can pick up points and get out of the group.
… conceding in the last minute: Recently we’ve conceded one or two times in the last minute of games. However against Leipzig, we showed that we can see a win over the line. The head coach and his team have done their analysis on it and we went into more detail on some of them – above all how they could have been avoided. We’re positive looking ahead and that doesn’t play a role in any of our heads. The focus is one hundred percent on the Shakhtar game.
… the work by Borussia’s groundskeeping staff: I can only say that the whole team is doing a great job – the pitch is always in great condition and we can play good football on it. The training ground is always fantastic too. Over the next few weeks, they will be asked a lot of. We’ll try to repay them with our results!
… empty stands at BORUSSIA-PARK: It’s always strange to play in an empty stadium, and you don’t get the usual feeling of a Champions League game. However, we’re going about it professionally and are pleased to be able to play. It is a special game tomorrow. We’ve worked hard for a year in order to be able to compete in this competition. We’ve already had some great moments in the Champions League, but we want to create even more memories. As a team, we have enough power and energy to deliver a good performance tomorrow.
… Borussia’s attacking play: Of course I always try to put in a good performance and be successful. As an attacker, you want to score goals and create chances. But we have a lot of players who are dangerous in the final third – we’re not dependent on one player and that’s a good thing.
