Arthur Numan has told The Scottish Sun that Borussia Dortmund will arrive at Ibrox looking to reply after losing 4-2 to Rangers in their Europa League knockout round play-off first-leg.
The Gers stunned in Germany last week to gain a two-goal aggregate lead for Thursday’s reverse meeting. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men stunned at the Westfalenstadion, leaving Dortmund chief Michael Zorc fuming with their display ‘an achievement to be ashamed of’.
James Tavernier broke the deadlock in North Rhine-Westphalia with a late first-half penalty before Alfredo Morelos hit three-minutes after. John Lundstram then ensured the second period resumed as the first had ended, while Dan-Axel Zagadou also scored an own goal.
Zagadou’s own goal immediately took the wind from Dortmund’s sails as Jude Bellingham had just pulled one back for BVB. Raphael Guerreiro would also beat Allan McGregor in the 82nd-minute to keep the Bundesliga outfit within range of the Premiership champions.
Numan has ‘no doubt’ of Borussia Dortmund response against Rangers
Rangers hero Numan has ‘no doubt’ that Borussia Dortmund will now travel to Glasgow on Thursday determined to respond. He also feels BVB could have underestimated his former side in the first-leg. But the result will have alerted Marco Rose’s side to the Gers’ threat.
“There is going to be a reaction from Borussia Dortmund. There is no doubt about that,” he said. “I watched the first game and Rangers played very well. I didn’t expect them to play that well against a team like Dortmund, but then no one did.
“Dortmund are a great team, especially at home, so it was a fantastic victory. I don’t know, maybe they underestimated Rangers a little bit. But it was also a wake-up call. You can see that because at the weekend, they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 6-0 in the Bundesliga.
“They will have to come and attack, they will have to come to Ibrox and give it a go. But Dortmund will also understand coming to Ibrox won’t be easy for them. The atmosphere on these nights is always unbelievable. I experienced it in my own career.”
Borussia Dortmund were in the ascendency all game against Monchengladbach to shake off their Europa League defeat to Rangers. Rose was again without Erling Haaland for the Bundesliga clash, but Marco Reus stood up with two goals and a hat-trick of assists.
Rangers, meanwhile, could not repeat their Europa League exploits in the Premiership as they drew 1-1 at Dundee United. The Gers did not suffer a European hangover as they were the dominant side for most – particularly the second-half – but could not find the winner.
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