Dortmund pushing Erling Haaland to be fit for 2nd leg v Rangers next week – report
Borussia Dortmund are pushing to have Erling Haaland available for the Europa League 2nd leg clash with Rangers next week, according to Ruhr Nachrichten.
The Norway international watched on from the stands as Rangers destroyed the Bundesliga club in the Westfalstadion on Thursday night, with a 4-2 win thanks to goals from James Tavernier, Alfredo Morelos, John Lundstram and a Dan-Axel Zagadou own goal.
The result means Rangers must avoid a two-goal defeat at Ibrox next week to progress to the last 16, and Dortmund have decided to push Haaland’s return forward to give themselves the best chance of qualifying.
According to the report, Haaland has upped his level of training and was with the Dortmund reserves on Friday and there is hope he will be included in the match-day squad for the first-team game on Sunday.
If he can come through that and the following training sessions, then Dortmund could look for him to play against Rangers.
Game-changer
If Haaland is available for Dortmund, even if he’s not 100 percent fit, then it is a game-changer for the tie.
Dortmund are a team more than capable of beating Rangers 2-0 at Ibrox, such is the quality they possess in their squad, and Haaland is right at the top of that chain as their best player.
His ability in front of goal means half-chances become real opportunities and Rangers weren’t faultless defensively in the first leg despite their excellent performance.
They will need to repeat that level of performance and hope Dortmund give them chances too in order to widen the gap since there are no away goals in the tournament anymore.
Until he plays Rangers will be hopeful that he doesn’t make the game, simply because it makes their chances of qualification that much greater.
In other Rangers news, ‘Sensational’ – BT Sport pundit drools over Rangers ace, ‘terrorised’ Dortmund in 4-2 win