Subdued Reus speaks on disappointing UCL campaign and Haaland
Speaking to Amazon Prime's German broadcast team on Tuesday evening, Dortmund head-coach Marco Rose and captain Marco Rose were understandably reserved despite their 5-0 victory.
Reus also confirmed that he had spoken to frustrated colleague Erling Haaland in the locker room. In Reus' words, the Norwegian star striker was simply "mad at himself" and "not really concerned about the future yet."
Reus also confirmed that he had spoken to frustrated colleague Erling Haaland in the locker room. In Reus' words, the Norwegian star striker was simply "mad at himself" and "not really concerned about the future yet."
| Marco Reus. |
"We had a good farewell to the Champions' League," Rose said afterwards, "For us this was a game that was important for rhythm and muscle memory."
Captain Marco Reus criticized his own finishing on the night, brushing off a very good nutmeg on one play by saying that he was "lucky that the opponent opened his legs."
"Of course it hurts because this team definitely has the class for the Champions' League," Reus said of the BVB's early exit, "but if you lose three in a row, you don't deserve it. We've been a bit shaky this year and we talk about that a lot."
"The motto for us moving forward has to be don't talk, just bring it on the pitch," the captain added, "the next three games are important for us to stay close to Bayern and go into the winter break with good feelings."
Asked about how Erling Haaland took the UCL exit, Reus confirmed that he had just spoke to the club's likely-to-depart after the season striker and could confirm that he was similarly frustrated.
"I just saw him in the dressing room and he was mad at himself," Reus answered, "The future isn't a big topic yet. That's still coming. It will become a big topic at some point. We're pretty relaxed about it. He's not concerned about it yet, just hungry for goals and happy that he's fit again. Of course, he knows what he has here."
At a press conference prior to the match, BVB boss Hans Joachim Watzke confirmed that the club would enter into some talks with Haaland in the coming weeks. Watzke stressed that the club wouldn't be looking for more definitive answers from the €180 million superstar "until March or April."