Dortmund ready for Juventus main event after Köln matinee
Dortmund - Despite being held to back-to-back goalless draws for the first time in 2289 days, Borussia Dortmund believe they are suitably prepared for Wednesday's must-win UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg at home to Juventus FC.
'We can beat Juve'
BVB suffered a 2-1 defeat in Turin last month and now have to do what they haven't done since beating SG Dynamo Dresden 3-0 in the third round of the DFB Cup two weeks ago if they are to stand any chance of reaching the quarter-finals: score.
"I'm sure we can beat Juve at home," affirmed Kevin Kampl following Saturday's 0-0 draw with 1. FC Köln. "There's a good chance they'll sit even deeper and play on the counter. It's definitely something we need to work on in the days leading up to the game, finding holes against deep-lying opposition and coming up with a plan B."
A point against promoted Köln certainly isn't something to be sniffed at in any case. The Billy Goats have earned a reputation for being one of the toughest nuts to crack in this season's Bundesliga, playing out more goalless draws than any of their top-flight contemporaries (seven). In that respect, BVB could hardly have asked for a more appropriate dress rehearsal for the visit of the defending Serie A champions.
'Continue to work hard'
"You can’t look at this result in a bad light," explained Jürgen Klopp from the bowels of the Signal Iduna Park. "I didn’t like the 0-0 in Hamburg as much as this one against Köln. We didn't concede, we can build on that. We have to continue to work hard to reach our goals."
Hard work has long been the philosophy for the eight-time German champions in a season that, until recently, had been steering a decidedly precarious course towards the second tier. Despite going in at the winter break 17th in the standings, BVB are now sitting comfortably in mid-table, with only FC Bayern München, VfL Wolfsburg and SV Werder Bremen amassing more points this calendar year - and only Borussia Mönchengladbach conceding fewer goals.
'Solid at the back'
"It's important that we were solid at the back and that we didn't concede [against Köln]," admitted Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, the Germany international having been beaten just five times in the league in 2015 compared to the 14 he shipped over the course of the first eight games of the Hinrunde. "But we should have created more chances."
In the Yellow-Blacks' defence, Weidenfeller's counterpart between the Köln posts Timo Horn played a blinder, but Dortmund know there'll be no such solace to be found should Juve's Gianluigi Buffon put in a similar performance on Wednesday night. "The challenge for us is to produce the goods consistently on the pitch," Klopp opined. "We can do better and we now have four days to work on doing just that. The boys can do it!"
Christopher Mayer-Lodge
