Champions League
Acclaimed monster move: Dortmund celebrates Süle
Defender Niklas Süle (r) received great praise from his teammates. photo
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
Borussia Dortmund finished top of Group F and can now hope for an easier opponent in the round of 16. In the respectable 1-1 draw against Paris, it wasn’t just goalscorer Adeyemi who was celebrated.
From being a reserve player into the limelight – in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-1 (1-1) draw against Paris Saint-Germain Niklas Süle for most of the conversation.
After a spectacular save against French superstar Kylian Mbappé, the national defender, who was called into the starting line-up again after a long time, was celebrated by the fans like a goalscorer.
Prevents early backlog
When the attacker only had to push the ball into the empty goal from a tight angle in the 18th minute of the Champions League game, Süle steered the ball out of bounds with a monster slide in which he artistically pulled up his leg, thus preventing the early goal :1 deficit for his team. “With some reflex I can get my foot up,” said the 28-year-old, “of course it looks spectacular.” After viewing the TV pictures on DAZN, he added with a smile: “You could all take a look at my crotch a little bit.”
Praise from Kehl
With this action, Süle himself stole the show from Dortmund goalscorer Karim Ademeyi (51st) and contributed to the high entertainment value of the game. “Niklas was outstanding in the situation. These are the moments that the team needs to stay in the game and to give itself self-confidence and strength,” enthused sports director Sebastian Kehl, full of joy about the victory in what was probably the toughest group before the title Star ensemble from Paris that was considered one of the favorites.
The courageous performance at the end of the preliminary round gives hope that the team will get back on track in the Bundesliga after only one win in six games. “We now have to show our performance every three days, regardless of the competition and the day of the week,” demanded Edin Terzic, with a view to the two games in Augsburg and against Mainz before the winter break. The BVB coach considered the question of a dream opponent for BVB in the round of 16 of the premier class, which will be drawn next Monday, to be secondary: “Our dream opponent is FC Augsburg on Saturday.”