"We'll enjoy the victory today and switch our focus to Paris tomorrow," said Emre Can on Saturday evening following the 2-1 away victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. BVB will be bidding to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.

While Borussia Dortmund do not need to win against the Ligue 1 leaders, who have lost only three of their past 54 home games in European club competitions, the current 2-1 lead is a slender one. However, that first-leg victory – secured courtesy of a Haaland brace – does leave the Black & Yellows well-placed. "We're in a good position," agreed Thorgan Hazard: "We'll need to work hard together. Maybe we can then progress in the Champions League."

"We need to believe in ourselves and be 100% present from the beginning," declared midfield metronome Can. A narrow defeat could even be enough to see them through given the goalscoring prowess of Haaland, Sancho & Co. Mats Hummels even joked that they would "even be happy to lose 7-6 because then we'd go through" – but the fact of the matter remains that another flawless and fully-focused defensive performance will be required. The trio of Piszczek, Hummels and Zagadou have gelled together well and made a major contribution, along with the agile Bürki between the goalposts, to securing an away win in Gladbach that not only gives them three points in the league but bolsters their self-belief ahead of the tough test in Paris too.

"We now need to go to Paris and show the same level of bite and desire we did today," said Achraf Hakimi in the aftermath of the victory in Mönchengladbach, adding: "Then we'll have a good chance of going through." (br)