Borussia Dortmund lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League last season and the year before that, they didn’t even make it out of the group stage.
With that in mind, it’s interesting that after a 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night in front of their boisterous supporters, the German club is taking every opportunity to rub salt in the wound when there is still 90 minutes left to play at the Parc des Princes on March 11.
Right after the match, we saw the club’s official Twitter account return to their feud with PSG fan DJ Snake…
Lean On 😉 https://t.co/Q4lfTlYaGs pic.twitter.com/Nz555kbCoE
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) February 18, 2020
Then, they found an article that quoted Thomas Meunier saying that he didn’t know who Erling Haaland was and that he doesn’t fear him…
https://t.co/LenVSJPVDK pic.twitter.com/nCppglRQIP
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) February 18, 2020
This example quotes Lars Ricken who claims that his former club doesn’t buy superstars, they make them. Dortmund signed Haaland for €20 million in the January transfer window…
⚽️⚽️ Erling Haaland (19)
🅰️ Gio Reyna (17)"We don't buy superstars, we make them" – Lars Ricken pic.twitter.com/iiyE28YQx4
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) February 18, 2020
This kind of banter does well on social media and I wouldn’t have an issue with it as much if the 2-1 win qualified Dortmund for the next round. To the victor go the spoils as they say.
However, there is still one more match to go and to kick your opponent while they’re temporarily down could come back to bite them if PSG is able to overturn the tie in the French capital.
The social media admin isn’t the only one at Dortmund who has become unhinged after the one-goal victory. The German club’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzki piled on as well as reported by Sky Sports (via ESPN).
“We are the deserved winners. There is maximum pressure on Paris now.”
“We have good chances to progress in the second leg. For Paris a world will be falling apart if they are eliminated. That’s why we hold a psychological advantage on them.”
“They still have the deja vu from last year’s Manchester United match in the back of their head.”
Again, factually, there’s nothing incorrect here but it’s an unnecessary jab that would perhaps be better left to pundits and fans or until the tie has actually been won. Considering how disliked PSG manager Thomas Tuchel is at Dortmund, Watzki likely couldn’t help himself.
There is immense pressure on PSG and Tuchel will need his best players, namely Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr., to show up and perform up to their lofty standards. PSG can “Dream Bigger” all they want but it’s time to stop dreaming and put in the work. Only then will they have the last laugh.
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