BVB leads the first leg 2-0 going into Bergamo. Lars Ricken demands a bold, aggressive effort in the second leg.

Regarding the match versus Atalanta, Lars Ricken:
“The victory places us in a favorable position, but anyone who believes we are at ease may be in for a harsh surprise. Atalanta is going to be combative. The tiny stadium will be heated as well. We had to put in a lot of effort at home to prevent them from achieving our objective. We cannot, therefore, commit the error of being passive, as we did against Leipzig in the first half. In order to calm the stadium, we must be assertive up front and attempt to score a goal. We’ve put a lot of effort into earning our self-confidence.

The strategy: “We are aware that Atalanta gets one day less sleep.” This means that instead of playing carefully, we should be proactive, play on the front foot, and steer clear of a start similar to what happened in Leipzig. The audience will be quite noisy if you give up a goal. We must be completely concentrated from the first minute and likely far past the ninetieth since the game may also be very aggressive.

Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck’s return: “It’s crucial that both of them are back now.” They participated in the last training session, and the group benefits from being on the aircraft. They are the team’s unquestionable leaders. Niko will determine whether they are prepared to begin training since they haven’t done much yet. However, the fact that they are on the plane is a positive indication in theory.