Why can't we replicate Champions League form in Bundesliga, Dortmund wonder

Kovac's team give Barca’s feared frontline of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha little space to operate for much of the game

Bundesliga - Borussia Dortmund v 1. FSV Mainz 05 - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - May 27, 2023 Borussia Dortmund's Julien Duranville, Emre Can, Sebastien Haller, Youssoufa Moukoko and Niklas Suele look dejected after the match REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Borussia Dortmund's Champions League quarter-final exit despite an impressive 3-1 win over favourites Barcelona on Tuesday only highlighted the Ruhr valley club's opposing fates in Europe and the Bundesliga this season.

While Dortmund failed to overturn a 4-0 first leg deficit, they went 2-0 up, igniting hope among the home fans of an unlikely comeback.

Niko Kovac's team gave Barcelona's feared frontline of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha little space to operate for much of the game while attacking them from the start.

With a high-pressing game, Dortmund, last year's Champions League finalists, made it clear they would not go down without a fight, giving the Spaniards, who had not lost any of their previous 24 matches in 2025, a scare.

But Tuesday's match could potentially be the last in Europe's premier club competition with their domestic league run not even coming close to matching their Champions League performances.

Dortmund, who last week drew 2-2 against league leaders Bayern Munich, are currently in eighth spot on 42 points, six off fourth place - the last that leads to automatic Champions League qualification - with five games left to play.

"The question remains why we cannot play like that in the Bundesliga as well," said Dortmund defender Niklas Suele after Tuesday's win. "Hopefully we show our fans here on Sunday a similar performance against Borussia Moenchengladbach."

Direct rivals Gladbach are seventh on 44 points and any slip-up against them could be costly.

With only two wins in their last five league games, Dortmund have dropped valuable points in recent weeks, and Kovac knows his team has all but run out of chances.

The horror scenario for the club, both in sporting and financial terms, would be failure to qualify for any European competition.

"We had really good moments with the ball in transition," Kovac said. "We will keep showing that to the lads so they can also do it against Gladbach."