Borussia Dortmund picked up a hard-fought 2-1 victory away to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. The Black and Yellows moved up into second place in the Bundesliga leapfrogging RB Leipzig, who were held to a scoreless draw in Wolfsburg.
The Westphalians were standing on heavy legs toward the end of the match at the Borussia Park. Thorgan Hazard, who scored the opener against his former team in the 8. minute, had to be subbed off in the 83. minute due to cramps.
Centre-forward Erling Haaland, who scored both goals in BVB’s 2-1 home win Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League a fortnight ago, sustained a knock on his back after a painful landing in an aerial duel.
Dortmund will hope to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals in the return leg against PSG on Wednesday. Coach Lucien Favre told his news conference after Saturday’s game that both Hazard and Haaland should be able to make the trip to the French capital.
“Haaland got a knock on his back,” the 62-year-old said, adding: “He was very tired because he’s already played a lot of games. He’s only 19 years old but it shouldn’t be a problem for Wednesday. Thorgan [Hazard] had cramps and needed to leave the field but that’s no problem. They should be able to recover until Wednesday.”
Dortmund will continue to be without team captain Marco Reus, who is sidelined with a muscular injury. The 30-year-old has started to train individually in BVB’s indoor training facilities but is not expected to return to the field before the international break.