Football
Stefan Buczko, Dortmund blogger 6y

Michy Batshuayi not thinking about future 'at all' amid BVB heroics

DORTMUND, Germany -- Michy Batshuayi says he's not concerned about his future while trying to do his best with Borussia Dortmund.

Batshuayi, 24, was the man of the match in BVB's 3-2 home win over Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday. The Belgium international bagged a brace, scoring a late winner in stoppage time to hand his side an advantage for the return leg in seven days.

"I'm feeling very good at the moment," Batshuayi told ESPN FC after the game, adding: "It was an important win for the team. We're trying to win every match and to continue to our good run."

Andre Schurrle opened BVB's account in the 30th minute but the visitors turned the game around with by a brace scored by Josip Ilicic within the space of five minutes. Batshuayi tilted the tie back into Dortmund's hitting the top right corner from the edge of the box after 64 minutes and then scored after receiving the ball from substitute Mario Gotze in the 91st minute.

Asked whether he was thinking about his future as he becomes more interesting for Chelsea and other top clubs with every goal he scores, the centre-forward said: "I'm not thinking about that at all.

"For me, it's important to perform well for Borussia Dortmund in every match anew. I'll deal with the situation as it comes."

Since joining Dortmund from Chelsea on a €1.5 million loan move until the end of the season, Batshuayi has scored five goals in three games, while being directly involved in another two, all within 270 minutes.

The 24-year-old thanked his teammates for making his integration at a new club seamless.

"They all welcomed me here with open arms," he said. "The entire staff and the team made it very easy for me and I have a good translator by my side."

The striker revealed that he doesn't do anything special to reward himself after a great performance, adding: "I'll spend time with my family and then I will rewatch the game and look at what was good and what could be improved," he said.

Dortmund coach Peter Stoger did not hide his enthusiasm about BVB's latest additions, telling his postmatch news conference: "Michy is a true goal scorer. We knew beforehand that he was a player that always had a good quota."

By scoring 0.58 goals per 90 minutes in all competitions, Batshuayi had the highest average of all Chelsea players before his loan move.

Stoger continued: "So it was a clever ploy by us to bring him to Dortmund. We knew he was going to score goals if he gets the opportunity. The question, however, was whether he would fit into the team. That is looking very good. He's totally accepted within the team, he's integrated fast.

"You can see that he likes to work for us, that he's aspiring to reach our goals. We know that he also has is personally aims but that is fitting together well at the moment. I'm very happy that he is here. I'm not surprised that he has such a good scoring record here."

The Chelsea loanee did not only impress by bagging a brace but was also a big help for his team by holding up the ball well, using his physicality. He instigated Andre Schurrle's goal in the 30th minute by winning the ball in midfield.

Asked, whether he appreciated Batshuayi's work rate over his goal-scoring ability Stoger responded: "When I say that I really appreciate the effort of him to win the ball, then I will be branded as a defensive coach but, of course, I like that a lot. If he adds diligence to his talent then a good striker becomes a special one."

Meanwhile, Julian Weigl told ESPN FC after the match that the late goal was vital for the Euro League ambitions.

"Atalanta made it very tough for us," he said. "Even when you have a bad phase in the game you mustn't concede two goals but we wrestled back well. The bottom line is that the late winner will be a big help to reach the next round."

Dortmund will play away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga before trying to secure a spot in the Euro League's round of 16 next Thursday.

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