Brandt passes "Man-of-the-Match" award onto Sabitzer after UCL win: "He had a massive impact."

As some had predicted, Borussia Dortmund were able to avenge their recent league home defeat against VfB Stuttgart with a massive home win over Atletico Madrid in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions' League quarterfinals last night. The chance to redeem in front of a packed house constituted a v very special occasion for surging midfielder Marcel Sabitzer. The Austrian international followed up a brace in last weekend's league victory with two assists and the decisive goal in the latest win. 

"This is an indescribable feeling," Sabitzer said when commenting on his team's UCL semi-final berth last night, "Champions' League quarterfinal. 80,000 in Signal Iduna Park. When you experience that, you're ready to run those extra miles and help the team out. We believed in ourselves and are very happy to be in the semi-finals." 

Sabitzer also drew praise from BVB administrator Hans-Joachim Watzke and head-coach Edin Terzic. The latter noted the Austrian's "brutal quality" while the former noted that the 30-year-old had been "outstanding as of late". When it came to assessing Sabitzer's performance, however, the one delivering the greatest compliment happened to be the player earning UEFA's "Man-of-the-Match" honors. Julian Brandt made his feelings known when speaking to the Amazon Prime interview crew. 

"I'm happy with this little trophy," Brandt said, "but all the lads played an amazing game. Marcel Sabitzer was my 'Man-of-the-Match' because he had a massive impact."