Lothar Matthäus: Atalanta clash “clearly more important” than Bayern encounter for Dortmund

Lothar Matthäus believes that Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League tie with Atalanta on Wednesday is “clearly more important” than their Bundesliga top-of-the-table clash with Bayern Munich on Saturday.

In what many consider the biggest game in German football, Borussia Dortmund will host Bayern Munich at Signal Iduna Park in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Before that, however, the Black and Yellows face the second leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff against Atalanta in Bergamo on Wednesday, having won the first leg 2-0.

According to German legend Lothar Matthäus, the Champions League tie is far more important than the Bundesliga clash with Bayern and should be the full focus of Niko Kovač and his squad.

“For Borussia, the playoff second leg in Bergamo is clearly more important. It’s about advancing in the Champions League and about a lot of money. I would focus fully on Bergamo first, and that’s what Niko Kovač will do as well,” Matthäus wrote in a column for Sky Germany.

With Bayern sitting eight points ahead of Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga table heading into ‘Der Klassiker’, Matthäus doubts the Bavarians will let their lead slip, regardless of Saturday’s result.

“If Dortmund play the way they did in the second half of the reverse fixture in Munich (a 2-1 win for Bayern, editor’s note), I could imagine that BVB might not necessarily be the underdog in the Klassiker against Bayern on Saturday. With a win, Dortmund could close the gap to five points, and there would still be nine matches left to play.

“But this Bayern team, with these personalities, this atmosphere within the squad, this compactness and joy of playing, will not let the championship slip from their grasp. I believe the Dortmund players know that as well.”