Marco Reus pleased with Borussia Dortmund’s hard-fought win over Zenit

Marco Reus was pleased with the way Borussia Dortmund fought back in their 2-1 win over Zenit St. Petersburg despite going a goal down early on.

Borussia Dortmund needed to match Lazio’s result on the final match-day of the Champions League group stage in order to secure top spot in Group F. But they fell behind in just the 16th minute, as Sebastián Driussi scored the opener for Zenit St. Petersburg. But second half goals from Lukasz Piszczek and Axel Witsel helped the Black and Yellows turn things around and seal a 2-1 win to end the group stage with 13 points.

Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus said after the game that getting the result was all that mattered on Tuesday. The Black and Yellows went into the game without a win in their previous three games. And the win over Zenit will no doubt give them confidence going into the final four games of the calendar year.

"“It was a hard-fought game,” Reus said. “In the first half we only had a couple of chances, but in the second we had to create more pressure because we knew that Lazio were winning and we really wanted to finish top of the group. It was a dirty win, but a very important win. It was important to qualify for the round of 16 as group winners in the Champions League. Now we have to try to win the last four games in the league.”"

Lucien Favre was also delighted that his team was able to get the job done despite dealing with injuries. Borussia Dortmund were without nine first-team players for the game against Zenit, including Erling Haaland, Thomas Meunier and Mahmoud Dahoud.

"“It was a difficult match. And it took a lot of energy. We hit the post just before half-time and unfortunately we didn’t score there. We can’t always have five or six scoring chances per half. We have to be more realistic. Zenit is a team that you can’t underestimate. But we fought until the end. We defended well after 2-1 and in the end we deserved to win.”"

Axel Witsel, who scored the winning goal for Borussia Dortmund, said that the win will give them a big morale boost for the upcoming Bundesliga games. “We are happy because we wanted to finish as group winners. Such a win is also good for morale and gives us a boost for the Bundesliga. Of course I was also happy about the goal, but I didn’t celebrate out of respect for the club, because I also had an incredible time here at Zenit.”

Borussia Dortmund will now turn their attentions to Saturday’s home game against Stuttgart. The newly promoted side has enjoyed an impressive start to the season, and will be aiming to cause an upset at the Westfalenstadion on Saturday.