Tuchel backs Gotze to win fans over

Borussia Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel admits he wasn’t surprised that Mario Gotze heard some whistles from the Westfalenstadion crowd during the win over Freiburg.

Tuchel however insists the 24-year-old midfielder has the support of an overwhelming majority of Dortmund’s fans.

Gotze left Dortmund in acrimonious circumstances in 2013 to join fierce Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.

While he would score the winning goal in the World Cup final for Germany the following summer, things did not work out for Gotze at the Allianz Arena.

Injuries and a loss of form saw him fall down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola and when Carlo Ancelotti took over this summer, he made it clear Gotze was not guaranteed a place in the team.

That led to a return to Dortmund, where Gotze faced a battle to win over the club’s supporters.

He played his part in setting up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the opening goal in a 3-1 win against Freiburg on Friday but there were some whistles when Gotze was subbed off after 71 minutes.

According to Tuchel, the reaction was not unexpected but Gotze still has a big chunk of supporters on his side.

“I think this is a normal process. The whistles were not so out of the blue,” he told a press conference.

“The absolute majority has expressed its solidarity and these actions show that the majority is behind Mario and he enjoys their full support.

“But I cannot imagine that this is an ongoing issue, the overwhelming majority of those applauding is significant.”

Dortmund have won four of their five league games so far and can be backed at 6/1 to win the Bundesliga this season.

They face a trip to Bayer Leverkusen next on Sunday 1st October, where they are 19/20 to get three points.

The home side are 11/4 for the Bay Arena clash, while the draw is 5/2.

Source: bet365.com