Pascal Groß celebrates “really good team performance” against Lille

The veteran midfielder enjoyed his night’s work in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, although an unfortunate booking will rule him out of the first-leg with Barcelona.

An elated Pascal Groß spoke to the media after Borussia Dortmund battled to a 3-2 aggregate win over Lille last night to secure a quarter-final berth.

“I think it was our performance [that made the difference]. It was a really good team performance tonight.

“Of course, when you fall behind so early away from home, it’s not easy. But we showed a great reaction in the first-half and had chances.

“But at half-time we had a feeling we would win the game if we stayed in it. For me, we deserved to progress,” Groẞ said.

The 33-year-old gave insights into what was said in the BVB dressing room at the interval, before heaping praise on Maxi Beier’s shoulders for his strong individual showing. 

“We just knew we had to go for it now or we would be [knocked] out of it. We threw everything forward and put our opponents under pressure.

“We created a lot of chances and played with a high intensity. I think we did all that and really played well away from home.

“Maxi is a great lad, he works hard every day, really hard. I’m especially pleased for him. He has incredible qualities which he is showing at the moment. 

“If we want to play successful football, we have to [work hard in defence]. Maxi is one [player] for me who does that every day. What he does defensively is extraordinary,” Groẞ concluded.