Donyell Malen was unpopular with his teammates during the Champions League match between FC Copenhagen and Borussia Dortmund (1-1) on Wednesday evening. During the match, the attacker plucked a ball from Anthony Modeste’s feet, who just then had a huge chance to score. Malen then missed and he was not thanked for that.
After the match, Modeste reported to the camera of the German Sports1 and was asked about the situation with Malen. The French striker was very disappointed. “It’s not the first time this has happened,” he said. “We have to work together as a team, I’ve said that before. But I don’t want to be too critical either, because we are a team.”
The frustration was great at Dortmund, as it was the dominant party in Copenhagen for a long time. However, they only managed to score once: Thorgan Hazard scored after 23 minutes of play. That was not enough for the win, as the Danes tied the score before half time via Hakon Haraldsson. That was it and so ended BVB the Champions League campaign on nine points from six matches. With that, the team will advance to the eighth finals.
On Wednesday evening, Rafael van der Vaart caused a stir by saying that he would put Malen in the base at the Dutch, provided the attacker is in shape. “The players we have are all similar in terms of qualities. Malen is ideal to have on hand for a two-striker system. If he is in shape, I might put him next to Memphis.”