Marco Rose: We want to get back on track after bitter Champions League exit

Marco Rose wants to get Borussia Dortmund moving in the right direction again after Wednesday’s bitter UEFA Champions League exit.

It is fair to say that morale is very low at Borussia Dortmund following Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat to Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League group stage. The Black and Yellows were knocked out of European football’s premier club competition as a result of that defeat. And they will now have to play in the UEFA Europa League after the turn of the year.

Marco Rose has admitted that the defeat to Sporting CP has had an after-effect on the Borussia Dortmund squad. But he is keen on moving on and wants to steer the team back in the right direction.

"“We’ve trained and regenerated. The game is still having an after-effect, we had a bitter exit in the Champions League,” Rose said during Friday’s pre-match press conference. “Nevertheless, we are looking to move on now. It’s my job now to bring the energy back in. We want to get things going in the right direction again. That’s why it is important to go to Wolfsburg and be successful there.”"

Despite their early elimination from the UEFA Champions League, Borussia Dortmund are only one point behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings. Marco Rose’s side face a tough away game against VfL Wolfsburg this weekend, before hosting Bayern Munich next weekend in what should be a fascinating top of the table clash.

Marco Rose is expecting a tough game against Wolfsburg, but he knows just how important it is for Borussia Dortmund to get back to winning ways on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund will be boosted by the surprise return of Erling Haaland on Saturday, with the striker set to travel to Wolfsburg with the team. While he is only ready for a short assignment right now, having Haaland fit again will no doubt be a big boost for the team.