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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Robbie Copeland

Lothar Matthaus in pessimistic Rangers clash prediction as German icon fillets inconsistent Dortmund

German football legend Lothar Matthaus isn't holding his breath for a Borussia Dortmund comeback on Thursday night.

Because he reckons Marco Rose's team deliver big performances "too rarely."

Dortmund need to bring their A-game to Glasgow on Thursday as a rampant Rangers win at the famous Westfalenstadion has them staring down the barrel of Europa League elimination.

The Premiership champions rocked the boat with a 4-2 win that arguably flattered the disjointed Germans and leaves them needing an Ibrox comeback for the ages.

Dortmund responded to their shock defeat by taking their anger out on Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

A stunning 6-0 victory sent a menacing message to Gio van Bronckhorst and his team that they are capable of racking up the goals - even without Erling Haaland who may be back to face Gers.

Matthaus, who won the old UEFA Cup with Bayern Munich and Inter among a glittering list of trophies, wasn't surprised to see them trounce Gladbach.

But he admits delivering that level of performance consistently is their problem and that's why they are struggling to keep pace with Bayern Munich.

And he's urged them to "pull themselves together" and come up with a showcase performance in the second leg.

Matthaus wrote in his Sky Germany column : "A team like Borussia Dortmund has to manage that much more often (their performance against Gladbach). It's also about believing in one's own strength and knowing what one is capable of when one really and absolutely wants it.

"Of course, it's also up to the coach to give the team the feeling that they can do it. But in the end, there are grown men on the field who have to pull themselves together to deliver week after week.

"Dortmund can do that, but they do it too rarely. In the league, they are on course for second place with 49 points, but not where they would like to be, namely at the top. They have what it takes to get even closer to the champions.

"With a performance like against Gladbach, they can also turn around the disgraceful first leg result in Glasgow. As is often the case, this will also be a matter of concentration for BVB. I hope they can do it."

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