Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic is excited by the prospect of facing former BVB heroes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic after they drew Chelsea in the Champions League.
Dortmund finished second to Manchester City in Group G of the Champions League, and were subsequently handed a tie against Graham Potter's Blues in Monday's last-16 draw.
The first leg – set for February 15 at Signal Iduna Park – will see Aubameyang and Pulisic return to their old club, for whom the Gabon striker scored 98 Bundesliga goals in a prolific five-year stint.
Asked about the draw at a press conference on Monday, Terzic said: "With Chelsea, a top team from England awaits us.
"With Aubameyang and Pulisic, they have players that were with us up until a few years ago.
"I am also close friends with the coach Graham Potter. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. But we won't play them now, but in February.
"Until then, there is a lot to do, so much homework to do, but we definitely look forward to those games.
"Attractive opponents like this are what we expect from the Champions League, and we will try to progress to the next round."
Meanwhile, Chelsea's director of football operations David Barnard is relieved they will not be facing former Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, who has made a flying start to life in England with Manchester City.
"We're looking forward to playing Dortmund because this will be the first time that we've come across them in the Champions League, it will be interesting from that point of view," he said.
"They played in the City group, as you know, and hopefully we'll get some inside knowledge from City on this particular one. At least Haaland is not playing for Dortmund on this occasion.
"We've obviously got Pierre going back to one of his old clubs, so we are looking forward to it."
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Dortmund injury problems mount ahead of Sturm Graz fixture
Injury-ravaged Borussia Dortmund are running out of time to recover players ahead of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Sturm Graz, coach Nuri Sahin has said.
Dortmund, who lost last season's Champions League final to Real Madrid, are currently without forwards Karim Adeyemi and Julien Duranville, midfielder Gio Reyna and defensive trio Niklas Sule, Julian Ryerson and Yan Couto.
Despite their lengthy injury list, BVB fought back to beat second-placed RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday, ending a three-game losing run in all competitions.
Ahead of Sturm Graz's visit, Dortmund are unbeaten in their last 12 home matches in the Champions League, winning eight and drawing four.
They have only lost one of their last 19 at Signal Iduna Park in the competition's group or league phase, versus Erik ten Hag's Ajax back in November 2021.
However, with goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, defender Waldemar Anton and winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens also doubtful for Tuesday's match, Sahin is concerned.
"The known absentees remain. I don't think anyone will come back, apart from Almugera Kabar," Sahin told reporters on Monday.
"We will have to see about Waldi. It will be a race against time. We did not get the green light on Greg yet. [Backup goalkeeper Alexander] Meyer has an extraordinary character.
"He is very popular in the squad and his qualities were on display at the weekend. To have a number two like that at this level is amazing."
Sturm Graz have lost all three of their Champions League games this campaign. Dortmund, meanwhile, suffered a 5-2 loss at Madrid in their last match but won their previous two against Club Brugge and Celtic.
Austria international Marcel Sabitzer, who recently returned to fitness, is particularly excited about the fixture, saying: "I come from Graz, I grew up there. I have many memories.
"Our mission is to win tomorrow, that's clear. I'm already feeling better. I'm confident that it will work out tomorrow."
Win over Leipzig just reward for injury-ravaged Dortmund, says Sahin
Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 comeback win over RB Leipzig to snap a three-game losing run was a reward for their hard work, coach Nuri Sahin said.
Dortmund, who face Sturm Graz in the Champions League next week, were without nine injured players but dug deep to score twice after visitors Leipzig took the lead.
They came into Saturday's Bundesliga match against second-placed Leipzig having lost three straight games across all competitions, and fell behind to Benjamin Sesko's thumping strike.
But goals from Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy completed the turnaround and saw Sahin continue his strong home form, having won each of his first five league matches in charge at Signal Iduna Park.
"An important win, and in my opinion a deserved win," Sahin told reporters.
"We started well and the goal did not knock us down. We were rewarded with a goal before half-time and then again after the break. Sometimes you suffer, but with suffering you learn. We are now on a better track and won't veer away."
Sahin had been under mounting pressure following a loss in the Champions League to Real Madrid after leading 2-0, and defeats by Augsburg in the Bundesliga last week and Tuesday's DFB-Cup exit to Wolfsburg.
"On Tuesday I also saw a team that gave everything but were not rewarded in the end. Today we were," Sahin said.
"The boys applied what we planned. The belief in this team is the same even if we had lost seven in a row."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
