Matthias Sammer praises Borussia Dortmund’s Niclas Füllkrug for Champions League performance
Germany legend Matthias Sammer praised Niclas Füllkrug for his performance against Newcastle in the Champions League.
In the advent of what was a very important win for Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League against Newcastle, German striker Niclas Füllkrug received praise for his first career goal in the completion. His goal, in part, led to Dortmund’s triumph and will hopefully be a sign of things to come for the player at club level.
Among those who have heaped praise on Füllkrug is Germany legend Matthias Sammer, who noted that Füllkrug’s performance was exemplary. The player was brought in to offer strength in leading the line for Die Schwarzgelben and, as Summer noted, showed up on the European stage:
"“You [Füllkrug] set an example. You won header duels against two oxen and put them aside. And that carries a team […]. A big compliment.”"
Füllkrug himself noted that his goal was fueled by the collective hunger of the team. His teammates played a huge role in making it happen, which he was quick to underline:
"“We almost lost the ball twice in the lead up to the first goal, but we were hungrier than the opponent, and that’s how we scored the goal, which happened to be my first goal in front of the Yellow Wall.”"
Looking ahead, despite the celebratory nature of the win, Füllkrug stated that he and his teammates are aware that there is still much to do in terms of improving their game, but acknowledged that their hard work in the competition has put them in a great position to capitalize on:
"” As a team, we have situations in which we have room for improvement. But we were playing against a top team today, it was a great reaction after Saturday. The goal shows how alert we were. We immediately countered and earned ourselves the goal. We have put ourselves in a great position thanks to hard work and now have it in our own hands. That’s the most important thing.””"
Next. Borussia Dortmund take the lead but all to play for in Champions League Group F with two matchdays left. dark
Dortmund still have a tough fixture away from home against AC Milan to contend with, followed by a blockbuster finale at home against PSG. If Dortmund can secure a result in Milan, they will book their place in the knockout stages. Füllkrug will be one of the players Dortmund look to to make this goal a reality.