Tullberg to oversee Champions League game | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund interim coach Mike Tullberg to oversee UEFA Champions League clash

Tullberg was in charge at Signal Iduna Park for the team's Matchday 19 fixture against Werder Bremen on Saturday afternoon, having assumed the reins after the sacking of Nuri Şahin on 22 January.

For his first game in charge, the long-time Dortmund U19s coach oversaw a 2-2 home draw against Bremen in which his side shrugged off an early red card for Nico Schlotterbeck.

They stormed to a 2-0 lead with ten men thanks to a first-half goal from Serhou Guirassy, who then shot again early in the second half, forcing an own-goal from Bremen captain Marco Friedl, who had attempted a block. However, their lead was undone by a Leonardo Bittencourt screamer, which lifted the visitors, culminating in a Marvin Ducksch equaliser just minutes later. But, Dortmund will take pride from the way they fought with a man-disadvantage for the majority of the game.

Following the game, Dortmund confirmed on Saturday evening that Tullberg will reassume control from the sidelines for Wednesday evening's final league phase fixture in the Champions League, at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

“Mike will also be on the bench on Wednesday," said Lars Ricken, Dortmund's managing director for sport. "That was actually already clear beforehand. But I told him that it was all about the Bremen game first, because I wanted Mike Tullberg one hundred percent - and that what we got.”

Dortmund are currently sat in 14th place at the head of a group of five teams on 12 points, including Bayern. They could mathematically finish as high as fifth and book a place straight through to the last 16. A draw at home to Shakhtar, who have already lost to Bayern, is very unlikely to be enough to crack the top eight. A win offers BVB their best chance, but it all depends on the results of others as well. Last season’s runners-up cannot drop out of the top 24 and the play-off spots regardless of their result. Their final position will, of course, impact their seeding in the play-off draw. Nevertheless, it will be Tullberg's responsibility to ensure Dortmund finish the league phase in as strong a position as possible.

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