Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Bosz says that his players ‘did not deserve’ to lose against Tottenham Hotspur when the two sides met earlier this season.
The clash at Wembley, which opened Group H in the Champions League, ended 3-1 to the home side despite their German counterparts performing well and creating a host of chances.
With no wins in their last five Bundesliga matches, Dortmund are in poor form coming into matchday five but Bosz insists that September’s game has had no bearing on their recent struggles.
“I think we played well over there but did not deserve the result we got,” the former Ajax head coach told his pre-match press conference, as reported on Spurs’ official website.
“But I don’t think that result was a big factor in the spell we are in now.
“After that, we played well, we won games in the Bundesliga.
“In fact, playing the football that we did in London, at one of the Premier League’s top teams, was impressive.”
Dortmund go into the match needing a victory to keep alive their slim hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
However, should Real Madrid defeat APOEL Nicosia in the group’s other fixture, then the 2013 finalists will crash out at the first hurdle.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have excelled in Europe this term, going unbeaten and earning three wins from their four fixtures, including a 3-1 triumph over Los Blancos at the start of November.
That result ensured qualification for the last-16 and the Lilywhites can confirm their progress as group winners by matching Madrid’s result at APOEL on Tuesday evening.
Few would have predicted such a feat were possible when the draw was made back in August, although manager Mauricio Pochettino and his staff will no doubt be solely focused on getting the three points at Westfalenstadion.