Erling Haaland's hunger proved too much for RB Leipzig in their crushing Champions League last-16 exit to Manchester City, per Marco Rose.

The Bundesliga outfit were condemned to a 7-0 defeat and an 8-1 aggregate exit as the Norway international ran rampant at the Etihad Stadium.

A five-goal haul for Haaland saw him tear through the Leipzig defence with a succession of close-range finishes, to send the hosts to the quarter-finals.

As the coach who oversaw the striker's arrival at Salzburg four years ago, Rose is well-acquainted with the attacker, and concurred his side simply didn't have the answers to stop him in the end.

"I know Erling very well," he said. "I know his qualities. When he is close to the goal, he wants to grab one. He scored five [and] we never managed to get into the game.

"He has had a great [game]. He scored goals with his foot and head, won second balls, [made] deep runs. It looked really simple. He took the ball from the referee. That tells you it was special for him." 

Leipzig had managed to hold City to a draw in the first leg, eking out a 1-1 result that gave them a potential foothold for an upset in this return fixture.

Rose acknowledged his side never got off the ground against their far superior hosts in the end, and took full responsibility for their dismal performance.

"We conceded the goals in a manner that makes this [a] very bitter [result]," he added. "City more than deserved their win.

"We were especially bad when it came to defending inside the penalty area. [That] we did so in a last-16 game in the Champions League [is appalling].

"They changed a few things in their pressing compared to the second half in Leipzig and this is something we had not expected."

RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose does not understand criticism of Erling Haaland's performances for Manchester City, quipping: "If you don't want him, send him to me."

Leipzig travel to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against City on Tuesday, having recovered from a goal down to clinch a 1-1 draw in last month's first leg.

Rose's men contained Haaland – who he coached during a one-season spell in charge of Borussia Dortmund – on that occasion, but the Norwegian has hit an astonishing 28 goals in 26 Premier League appearances this term.

Despite those returns, some have suggested Haaland is unsuited to Pep Guardiola's possession-based style of play, with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher questioning whether the striker had joined the wrong club last month.

However, Haaland's former boss Rose does not see any downside to his presence in City's team and believes it is impossible to keep him totally quiet.

"If you don't want him, send him to me! I'll take him," Rose said at Monday's pre-match press conference. "Even just for the last 10 games. After that, you can have him back! 

"I'm really surprised about that [criticism]. He's scored 28 goals in 26 league games. If you take those goals away, I don't know where City would be in the league. 

"I don't know what we're talking about. Everyone knows about Haaland's qualities. We were able to defend well against him in the first leg, but you'll never be able to keep him completely quiet. 

"They don't just have Erling – there will be many world-class players we'll need to be alert for."

Haaland has scored 17 times in 11 home Champions League games in his career, netting two or more goals on seven occasions and averaging a goal every 49 minutes in those matches.

With City enjoying a 23-match unbeaten streak in Champions League games at the Etihad, Rose says Leipzig must produce their best display of the season to progress.

"We played against Man City three weeks ago. We know what we'll come up against," he said. "In the end, you have to find the right balance against a top team like that.

"Trust, confidence and us playing our best game of the season are what we need tomorrow."

Marco Rose suggested Josko Gvardiol will still be playing for RB Leipzig next season as the coach attempts to stave off Premier League interest in the centre-back.

Reported Chelsea target Gvardiol salvaged a 1-1 draw for Leipzig in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 clash with Manchester City at Red Bull Arena.

The Croatia defender also previously named Liverpool as his "dream" destination after impressing at the World Cup alongside former Red Dejan Lovren.

But Rose insisted the 21-year-old will remain with Leipzig, despite a credible performance in a potential Premier League audition against Pep Guardiola's side.

"Josko Gvardiol will be an RB Leipzig player next season as well," he told TV 2 Sport after Leipzig's first-leg clash with City.

"I am the coach and I am asking for that. He is happy here. He said he wants to play in the Premier League, but he didn't say when."

Rose joked Gvardiol "should play basketball" after his towering headed equaliser in the 70th minute, though he was left unimpressed with Leipzig's first-half showing.

"We should start to play and fight. It was a really difficult first half, 26 per cent possession isn't enough," Rose told BT Sport.

"We were too passive in every situation. They moved the ball and they moved us. We had no power."

However, another impressive outing for Gvardiol against one of Europe's elite secured a share of the spoils and left it all to play for in the March 14 return leg at Etihad Stadium.

"The second half was totally different. Better late than never."

Marco Rose joked Yann Sommer would have snubbed a move to Bayern Munich in order to reunite with him at RB Leipzig if he had only asked.

The goalkeeper made the switch to the Bundesliga champions from Borussia Monchengladbach on Thursday after almost a decade at Borussia-Park.

He arrives to replace the injured Manuel Neuer and could slot straight into the starting line-up for Bayern's league match with Leipzig on Friday.

Rose, who coached Gladbach for a two-year period between 2019 and 2021, quipped that Sommer could have made the move to another destination if he had intervened.

"He called me and said 'if you don't take me, I'll go to Bayern'," he said. "I hold Yann in very high regard, as a person but also as a player.

"I think he's had an outstanding phase [of form]. I think he's a good signing for Bayern Munich. [But] I think that Sven Ulreich is an excellent goalkeeper who has also done well.

"There will be a good goalkeeper in goal [whoever it is]. Yann, I wish all the best of course."

Sommer made 272 Bundesliga appearances for Gladbach following his arrival in 2014, and enjoyed a 71.1 save percentage among goalkeepers with more than 10 league games.

He has the second-best figures in the division this term, with 77.1 per cent, behind only the 79.1 figure posted by Union Berlin's Frederik Ronnow.

Sommer is the second new face to arrive at Bayern this transfer window, following Daley Blind from Ajax.

Gladbach moved quickly by announcing fellow Switzerland international Jonas Omlin as Sommer's successor on Thursday.

RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose brushed off fresh speculation about Christopher Nkunku's future after the France international was strongly linked with Chelsea.

Reports have suggested Nkunku's Leipzig contract contains a £52.4million (€60m) release clause, and Chelsea are said to be keen suitors of the prolific attacker.

Nkunku scored 35 goals and added 20 assists in all competitions during a remarkable individual campaign last term, and has already scored six times in the Bundesliga this season.

With Nkunku likely to play a pivotal role when Leipzig attempt to get off the mark in the Champions League against Celtic on Wednesday, Rose is ignoring transfer rumours.

"It's speculation, we don't comment on it. It doesn't bother us, it doesn't interest us," the former Borussia Dortmund coach said.

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter took a similar stance ahead of the Blues' Champions League clash with Milan, saying: "As I've said before, my answer is I don't speak about players that aren't Chelsea players.

"If you want to ask me about any Chelsea players, I'm quite happy to speak about them. It was the same at Brighton. You get linked with a lot of players; there's a lot of names out there.

"As you can imagine, it gets escalated at a club like Chelsea. I'll speak about Chelsea players and not comment about anybody else."

Nkunku has been involved in eight Champions League goals since the start of last season (seven goals, one assist) – twice as many as any of his Leipzig team-mates (four – Emil Forsberg and Andre Silva).

However, the versatile 24-year-old is yet to score or assist in the competition this campaign, with Leipzig suffering back-to-back losses against Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid.

Should Leipzig be beaten on Wednesday, it will represent the second consecutive Champions League campaign in which the Bundesliga outfit have started with three losses, and Rose is wary of the threat posed by Celtic.

"They have a team which is very active on the pitch, with a lot of pace. They are very attacking with a clear idea," Rose said.

"They are hard-working. They have two or three lads from Japan. It's fun watching them. It's just a great team and not a team that thinks defensively or about parking the bus.

"It will be our task to put them in difficulties. We will find spaces and we will try to take advantage."

RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a ligament injury in Saturday's 3-0 win against Borussia Dortmund.

The 25-year-old Austrian came off late in the game, and it has been revealed by his club he suffered a blow to his left syndesmosis ligament, an injury often known as a high ankle sprain.

Laimer, who was linked with Liverpool and Bayern Munich before the transfer window closed, faces "several weeks" out of action, Leipzig said.

The news comes as a blow to new Leipzig head coach Marco Rose, who was appointed last Thursday in the wake of Domenico Tedesco losing his job after a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk.

The injury setback was confirmed on the eve of Leipzig's away game against Real Madrid in the Champions League, with Rose looking to keep the Bundesliga side in with a realistic shot of a top-two finish in Group F, which also contains Celtic.

Marco Rose insisted he took no extra satisfaction from beating Borussia Dortmund after he began his RB Leipzig tenure with a 3-0 thrashing of his former employers.

Goals from Willi Orban, Dominik Szoboszlai and Amadou Haidara got Rose's Leipzig reign off to the ideal start on Saturday, as they moved to within four points of Dortmund in the Bundesliga table.

Rose led Dortmund to a second-placed finish in his single season in charge last term, but was dismissed in May.

His exit allowed Edin Terzic, who performed the role of technical director during Rose's reign, to step back into the Dortmund dugout, and some had suggested the duo were set for an awkward reunion at the Red Bull Arena.

Speaking to Sky Sports, however, Rose said he took "zero point zero" satisfaction from beating his former colleague. 

"I really enjoyed being with the club. This is a great club," he said.

"I've met great people. In the end, it didn't fit any more, I had to go. I have a very good relationship with Edin. I wish BVB and the boys personally all the best."

Rose was later full of praise for his side's performance, declaring: "We were very present from the first minute. It wasn't perfect in terms of content, but we were intense, showed something and took the whole stadium with us.

"But I'm very happy with how we performed today. One of the keys to our success was definitely that we were able to use our pace and bring the quality of play onto the pitch.

"Leipzig is my home, with which I identify strongly. I feel very comfortable, I really like the people, and you saw that you can spark something together here."

Leipzig's clean sheet was just the second they have ever kept against Dortmund, with the other coming in their first competitive meeting in September 2016. Die Roten Bullen had conceded at least once in each of the teams' subsequent 12 meetings. 

Rose, meanwhile, has claimed just his second victory in his last seven games against BVB (five losses).

Goalscorer Szoboszlai worked with Rose at Salzburg between 2017 and 2019, and says he owes his career to the 45-year-old.

"I've known Marco since my time in Salzburg," he said. "We had both good and bad times together. But it's very clear, if he hadn't been there in my career, I wouldn't be where I am now."

Rose will face another of his former clubs when Leipzig go to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga next Saturday, though he must first navigate a Champions League trip to reigning champions Real Madrid on Wednesday.  

Football is, indeed, a funny old game.

Given the regular twists of fate the football calendar can throw up, it should perhaps be little surprise to see the start Marco Rose has been handed after being appointed RB Leipzig head coach this week.

The first two Bundesliga games for Rose will be against his former clubs, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach, either side of a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to play Real Madrid in the Champions League.

"We all play in the same league so we'll face every team at some point," he said after he was announced by Leipzig. "It's definitely special and exciting, but I have a lot of work to do here so the scheduling isn't very important. We'll take it as it comes."

And he's right. Domenico Tedesco's replacement must get off to a good start to get Leipzig's season back on track, and who better to do it against than a Dortmund side that has already opened up a seven-point gap on them?

Opposing starts

After winning just five points from their first five games, Leipzig are experiencing their second-worst start to a Bundesliga season, though they have beaten last season's effort by a point.

Following their 4-0 humbling at Eintracht Frankfurt last time out, they have conceded nine Bundesliga goals already for the first time ever, and have never scored fewer goals at this stage (also six last season).

Dortmund, on the other hand, have collected 12 points from their first five games for the third successive season, sitting second in the table, ahead of Bayern Munich in third.

Edin Terzic's men also won their first two away games for the first time since 2015-16, meaning they could win their first three on the road in a top-flight season for only the third time (also in 2000-01 and 2010-11).

Kiss from a Rose

Marco Rose was in charge of 46 competitive matches as coach of Dortmund last season, but now that he is set to take on his former club in his first match as coach of Leipzig, it must be noted that he has lost five of his last six competitive games against BVB (W1).

New boss Terzic has won all three of his competitive games as head coach against Leipzig, including a 4-1 victory in the 2021 DFB-Pokal final.

In fact, Terzic has recorded more wins and scored more goals (10) against Leipzig than versus any other team, so will be confident of piling more misery on them on Saturday.

Importance of Reus and Nkunku

Marco Reus made it 1-0 to Dortmund for the 45th time in the Bundesliga when he scored against Hoffenheim last week. In doing so, he drew level with Manfred Burgsmuller's club record.

Reus has had a hand in 17 goals in the top flight in 2022 (seven goals, 10 assists) – of current Bundesliga players, only Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku has been directly involved in more (25 – 17 goals, eight assists).

Nkunku will make his 100th Bundesliga appearance on Saturday, should he play, and is the only player since his debut in August 2019 to score at least 30 goals (35) and set up 30 (32).

He was directly involved in five goals against Dortmund last season (two goals, three assists) – a record he did not better against anyone else (four goals, one assist against Hertha Berlin).

Keeping those sheets clean

Leipzig have only ever kept one clean sheet against Dortmund, which came in their first ever competitive meeting, a 1-0 home win in September 2016. They have since conceded at least once in all 12 meetings. Leipzig have never endured such a long wait for a clean sheet against any other side.

Despite losing Erling Haaland to Manchester City, BVB have continued to score goals, and have found the net in each of their last 33 Bundesliga games, the second-longest run in club history (37 games from 2020 to 2021).

No side has kept more clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season than Dortmund (three, level with leaders Freiburg), and only Union Berlin (three) have allowed opponents fewer clear-cut chances than BVB (five, and none over the last two matchdays).

Marco Rose has been appointed as the new coach of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig on a deal until June 2024.

Leipzig acted swiftly following the dismissal on Wednesday of Domenico Tedesco, who lasted just nine months in the role after replacing Jesse Marsch.

Tedesco paid the price for a poor start to the season that yielded just one win from five Bundesliga matches, while their Champions League campaign got under way with a 4-1 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk.

In his place comes Leipzig-born Rose, who parted company with Borussia Dortmund in May after just one season in charge despite securing a second-place finish.

Rose is a familiar face in the Red Bull set-up having previously coached Salzburg, after rising through their youth-team coaching ranks.

It was his work in Austria, where he won two top-flight titles and the Austrian cup, that meant Rose earned admirers in Germany, and a move to Borussia Monchengladbach occurred prior to the 2019-2020 season.

He helped Gladbach to a fourth-place finish in his first season in charge and, although they placed eighth in the following campaign, a run to the Champions League knockout stages saw Dortmund come calling.

Dortmund finished eight points behind champions Bayern last term, and the two parties went separate ways, but Rose will now have another crack at a big job in the Bundesliga with Leipzig.

Edin Terzic has been named as the new head coach of Borussia Dortmund, the club have confirmed.

Terzic enjoyed an interim spell in charge of Dortmund last season after Lucien Favre was sacked in December 2020, and led the club to DFB-Pokal glory.

Marco Rose was eventually named as full-time head coach but was sacked earlier this month with Dortmund having finished eight points behind Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, and underwhelmed in both the Champions League and Europa League.

Terzic, who was first brought to Signal Iduna Park as an assistant to Favre and had been serving as technical director, consequently returns to the role on a deal until June 2025.

"By now, many people are likely to be aware of the special importance BVB holds in my life. I'd therefore like to express my sincere thanks to Aki Watzke, Michael Zorc and Sebastian Kehl for the great trust they have placed in me and for giving me this great responsibility," Terzic told the club's official website.

"We will do everything in our power every day to make the team and the entire club successful."

Soon-to-be sporting director Kehl added: "We held several intensive discussions with Edin Terzic last weekend and are convinced that this personnel decision is the right one for BVB. 

"Edin knows our club, the environment, a large part of the team and the areas we would like to fine-tune to be able to offer successful football to our fans. 

"The 2022-23 season constitutes a fresh sporting start. We will press ahead with this together with great joy and passion."

Dortmund have already been busy preparing for next season, with Salih Ozcan joining from Cologne on Monday – their fourth signing after Karim Adeyemi, Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck had already agreed to join.

However, Terzic will no longer be able to call on the talents of superstar striker Erling Haaland, who is moving to Manchester City.

Marco Rose has been dismissed as Borussia Dortmund coach following "intensive analysis" of his single season in charge of the Bundesliga club.

Rose left Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of the 2020-21 campaign to take up his role at Dortmund.

Yet he has lasted only 12 months at Signal Iduna Park despite finishing the season as Bayern Munich's nearest challengers in the Bundesliga.

BVB were eight points off the pace in second, with any hopes of a dramatic title chase ended by their 3-1 defeat at Bayern in April.

It is now 10 years since Dortmund last won the championship under Jurgen Klopp, while Rose also failed to deliver success in cup competitions.

Dortmund finished the season without a trophy and endured a dismal European campaign.

Rose's side could not advance from a seemingly kind Champions League group, losing 4-0 away to Ajax before dropping into the Europa League and suffering further humiliation.

Eventual finalists Rangers won 4-2 in Dortmund en route to a 6-4 aggregate success.

Rose was without talismanic forward Erling Haaland for that tie, although the next BVB coach will also have to come to terms with his imminent departure for Manchester City.

Dortmund have at least made positive early transfer moves in terms of incomings, securely deals for Germany internationals Niklas Sule, Nico Schlotterbeck and Karim Adeyemi.

Rose's exit was confirmed in a short statement on Twitter on Friday, which read: "BVB and coach Marco Rose end their relationship.

"Following an intensive season analysis on Thursday, including Rose, [CEO Hans-Joachim] Watzke, [departing sporting director Michael] Zorc, [incoming sporting director Sebastian] Kehl and [consultant Matthias] Sammer, the club has decided to move forward and wishes Marco Rose the best of luck in his next opportunity."

Erling Haaland's talents in attack make him "an absolute weapon" for Borussia Dortmund, says boss Marco Rose, favourably comparing the forward to Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski.

The two Bundesliga heavyweights meet this weekend in the latest edition of Der Klassiker, with Julian Nagelsmann's side able to claim the title against their biggest rivals with victory.

Much of the result will likely hinge on the performances of two of European football's most talismanic strikers, in Poland star Lewandowski and Norway forward Haaland.

The latter looks set to play out his final few games for the Black and Yellow over the coming weeks, and is widely expected to seal a major move during the close-season to a European rival with Manchester City heavily tipped to win the race for his signature.

But his contributions have been invaluable for Dortmund and head coach Rose, who hailed his prowess when speaking about him and Lewandowski ahead of their encounter.

"They have different strengths," he stated. "Lewandowski serves all facets with more experience and drops a lot.

"He's in a good position in the box too though. His first contact is world class.

"[But] Erling has also made progress this season. In the transition game, he is an absolute weapon.

"His header game has also gotten much better. When the ball comes into the box, both know exactly where the goal is."

Dortmund's last Bundesliga Klassiker victory came back in 2018, when they defeated Bayern 3-2 on home soil under Lucien Favre.

Rose knows it is due time that his side rise to the occasion in the Bundesliga's biggest fixture, and that the merit of the occasion drives them on to deliver.

"It's a classic," Rose added. "It's also about reputation. A win in Munich is always good. We don't want to just defend.

"Bayern can become champions on Saturday and will perform accordingly. We want to prevent that.

"We played a good game last Saturday, we need that performance at an even higher level and consistently over 90 minutes."

Mats Hummels said Borussia Dortmund would have to stomach the criticism after a 4-1 home defeat to RB Leipzig that he felt was particularly harsh.

There was evidence to back up defender Hummels' verdict, with Opta data showing Leipzig only shaded the game 0.79 to 1.24 in terms of expected goals (xG), which is a measure of the quality of a team's chances.

Dortmund had 63.8 per cent of possession, and both teams had 10 shots, but Leipzig were far more clinical with the chances that fell their way.

Indeed, 10 shots is the fewest needed by any team to score four goals in a Bundesliga game this season.

It added up to a desperate day for Dortmund, who were playing inside a full home stadium for the first time since the pandemic hit after restrictions were relaxed in Germany.

In-demand striker Erling Haaland, who played the full game, had only one shot and was largely peripheral.

"That's disappointing for us," Hummels said of the result. "We had a lot planned for the crowd here today. The first time with over 80,000 after two years.

"That was a victory for Leipzig today in terms of effectiveness and the exploitation of chances. It was by no means a 4-1 game in terms of performance ratios, but we have to live with the fact that we are criticised for the result because that's the way it is in football.

"I think the people of Leipzig know that things could have gone very differently in the first half. In the end, it's goals that count in football."

Christopher Nkunku, fresh from winning his first two caps for France, scored one and assisted two of Leipzig goals.

He now has 16 goals for the season and 11 assists, which are both team highs.

Leipzig have won more points (26) and have a better goal difference (plus 22) than any other side in the second half of the Bundesliga season, and they sit fourth, three points clear of a Freiburg side that lost at home to leaders Bayern Munich.

Dortmund head coach Marco Rose felt Leipzig said his team, who remain second in the table but nine points behind Bayern, "didn't defend well enough".

"Offensively, we didn't finish the attacks enough and thus gave Leipzig opportunities to counter-attack again and again," Rose said. "We have to work on that."

Leipzig boss Domenico Tedesco, quoted on the Bundesliga website, said: "Winning 4-1 in Dortmund is not something that can be taken for granted.

"We played with discipline, won the ball a lot and in the end we deserved a win. We played well on the counter-attack too, so we could have scored one or two more goals in the second half."

Borussia Dortmund coach Marco Rose explained that Erling Haaland knows he is still missing an edge following his return from injury, but has full confidence in the striker.

Haaland started for the first time since January 22 on Sunday, as Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw at Cologne to dent their hopes of mounting a Bundesliga title challenge.

It was hardly a vintage display from the 21-year-old, who managed as many touches in his own box as Cologne's (four), while he missed both of Dortmund's best opportunities based on Opta's expected goals (xG) model.

Haaland, who may well be entering his final few months at BVB, drilled wide in the first half when one-on-one with Marvin Schwabe, who stood firm against the forward after the break, denying Dortmund's number nine from close range.

Those opportunities had a combined xG of 0.73. Essentially, Haaland had a 73 per cent chance of getting a goal from those chances

However, with Haaland getting 87 minutes under his belt before making way for Reinier Jesus, Rose has no doubt his star man will return to his best form after the international break.

"I'll start with Erling," Rose told a news conference. "I think the game was important for Erling. You must create chances, which he did once today with a big one.

"He had a good game. I briefly talked to him, and he knows that he's still missing something. But I think we're on a good path and he will score again if he returns healthy from the international break."

Dortmund are unbeaten in their last six Bundesliga games but have dropped valuable points against Augsburg and now Cologne during that run, allowing Bayern Munich – who thrashed Union Berlin 4-0 on Saturday – to move six points clear at the top.

"I just said it in the interview outside, I will play this game with you. If we lose a game, you say 'you screwed up', then we win a game and Bayern drops points and I get asked if we are involved again in the title race," Rose said.

"So, it's almost a running gag now. We like to be up there and want to win games. We didn't win, so we are disappointed. The result of not winning football games is that the gap between Bayern and us is growing.

"But we also already had game days like last week where we got closer. We have seven more games after the international break. We play [RB] Leipzig at home in a sold-out stadium. We want to get the maximum out of this season."

Erling Haaland could make his long-awaited return from injury during Borussia Dortmund's clash with Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday, revealed head coach Marco Rose.

Haaland, who has hit 16 Bundesliga goals at a rate of just 71.56 minutes per goal this season, has not featured for second-placed Dortmund since sustaining a muscle injury six weeks ago.

But ahead of Dortmund's home clash with relegation-battlers Arminia, Rose revealed that his top scorer could be set for a return to action, albeit from the bench. 

"Erling is now pain-free, which makes him very happy," the 45-year-old said. "He's just happy that he's now training with the team every day again and is in a very good mood. 

"First and foremost, it's always about health. Everything else is secondary."

Rose did, however, say that the Norway star was unlikely to play from the start, issuing a reminder that he has been out for a "long time", and that he was more likely to be introduced from the bench.

Bundesliga matches involving Dortmund have averaged 4.21 goals per game this season, the highest tally in the division, and BVB have actually conceded more goals (37) than Sunday's opponents have (33), despite sitting 13 places higher in the table.

Yet, with Dortmund nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich with a game in hand, Rose seemed content with his side's progress, and hoped to deliver one last push for the title during the run-in.

"Despite some weaker games, we have also delivered some spectacles," Rose said. "The fans have always pushed us with their feedback. 

"That's what I'd like to see from Sunday onwards, so that we can push together at the end of the season."

Elsewhere, Haaland's return could be accompanied by that of Giovanni Reyna, in what would be a major boost to the United States ahead of this month's crucial World Cup qualifiers.

The 19-year-old suffered what looked like a hamstring injury last month and has made just five Bundesliga appearances all campaign, but the club's social media channels have now revealed that the youngster has been in full training this week and is in line for a return. 

With just three matches left in their qualification campaign, USA are battling with Canada, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica for a spot in Qatar, facing each of the latter three in crucial matchups before the end of March.