Marco Reus played a key role in Dortmund's opener in the 3-2 victory against Frankfurt on Sunday. - © © imago / Jan Huebner
Marco Reus played a key role in Dortmund's opener in the 3-2 victory against Frankfurt on Sunday. - © © imago / Jan Huebner

Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus: “This club is always in with a chance of winning titles”

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After committing his long-term future to the club on Friday, Marco Reus produced another influential performance to help Borussia Dortmund edge past Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 26.

The 28-year-old played a key role in Dortmund’s opener against the Eagles, pressuring Eintracht centre-back Marco Russ into turning the ball into his own net after just 11 minutes. Michy Batshuayi's superb late double earned Peter Stöger’s charges a thrilling 3-2 victory, but Reus feels Borussia’s second-half showing left a lot to be desired.

Speaking to bundesliga.com after the match, Reus shared his thoughts on BVB’s display against Niko Kovac’s side and outlined his reasons for signing a new five-year deal at the Signal Iduna Park.

bundesliga.com: Marco Reus, is it fair to say that the fans were treated to a much better performance compared to Thursday’s display against Salzburg?

Marco Reus: In the first half, yes.

bundesliga.com: What happened after that?

Reus: After that we were pretty poor.

Watch: Reus: "Batshuayi brought freshness"

bundesliga.com: How come?

Reus: That’s a good question. For weeks now we’ve been putting in inconsistent performances in the first and second halves of games, which is inexplicable. We played really well in the first half today and were tactically disciplined. We were alert and won a lot of tackles against a really unpleasant opponent. We weren’t able to keep them at bay in the second half, though. Frankfurt made a couple of tactical changes which we weren’t able to deal with, and they managed to gain the upper hand. At the start of the second half Frankfurt had what felt like 10 corners in quick succession. We need to become more solid. Every one of us should be looking to get on the ball to give ourselves some respite. We’re at home and should be going all out for the second goal.

bundesliga.com: BVB were more purposeful in the opening 25 minutes, but how come you weren’t able to score a second before half-time?

Reus: You can’t just play a team like Frankfurt off the park. The first 25 minutes were really good - we linked up well in attack and were composed in possession. At the end of the day all that was missing was a second goal which would have allowed us to relax a bit more. That’s what we need to do in future, then we’ll be in a position to play the way we did in the first half.

bundesliga.com: You witnessed the thrilling end to the game from the subs’ bench. How frustrating was it not being able to help your team-mates?

Reus: When you score the winning goal in the final second of the match you’d obviously rather be on the pitch (laughs), but it’s all fine. We were all incredibly pleased. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.

bundesliga.com: Frankfurt equalised twice but you retook the lead almost instantaneously on both occasions. How important is this victory for the team’s confidence?

Reus: We’ve often shown character and determination this season. Our problem at the moment is that we need to score that second goal to give us a bit of breathing space. That would make it a lot easier for us to play our natural game, and we wouldn’t have to be on tenterhooks until the 95th minute.

Watch: Marco Reus under pressure

bundesliga.com: You extended your contract with BVB on Friday. What persuaded you to commit your future to the club?

Reus: There were several reasons. For me personally, it was important that we sort things out before the run-in and obviously before the World Cup. I wanted to have my future settled before then. I also wanted to show my team-mates that we can achieve something special here. I hope it’s a sign of things to come and that we end the season in a Champions League place. If we can keep doing well after that, I see a very bright future here.

bundesliga.com: You’ve committed your future to BVB until 2023. Is it fair to assume that the club shared its long-term ambitions with you while negotiating your contract?

Reus: It certainly is! We obviously had discussions, that much is clear. This club is always in with a chance of winning titles. Our primary objective now is to qualify for the Champions League again and reach the next round of the Europa League against Salzburg on Thursday. Then we’ll see what the future holds in the summer.

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