Borussia Dortmund are in good shape, too.
The trip to face Arsenal in North London looks onerous, but having AEK Athens, Inter and Villarreal at home, under the Westfalenstadion’s lights, gives Niko Kovac’s side a real opportunity to stamp their ticket for the next round.
Dortmund play Hamburg this weekend in their opening Bundesliga fixture and I’m expecting them to have a lot more flair this season.
Konstantinos Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias are marvellous players, but midfielder Joey Veerman has also joined from PSV Eindhoven and Joane Gadou, a mighty defensive prospect, has signed from RB Salzburg.
Several of the older players have left. Niklas Sule retired, Julian Brandt was sold and Karim Adeyemi, although hardly a veteran, departed for Barcelona.
The result is the feel of a new era, something more like an old Dortmund. Fun. flamboyant, full of ambition. Let’s see — but they are not to be written off.
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