Borussia Dortmund have been warned that their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages are at 'risk of extinction' as they prepare to travel to face Newcastle United later this month.
The Bundesliga side lost their opening game against Paris Saint-Germain last month 2-0 in an uninspiring performance, before settling for a goalless draw against AC Milan last night to leave them bottom of Group F with a single point.
It comes as the exact opposite of the Magpies, who, following their own 0-0 draw against Milan, ran rampant at St.
James' Park for a 'sensational result' over PSG which saw them smash four goals past the Ligue 1 champions.
Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn posted first-half goals as Eddie Howe's side appeared to be in the driving seat early on.
Then it was Sean Longstaff to make it 3-1 early on in the second half following some nice link-up play with Kieran Trippier before Fabian Schar fired home a wonder strike to complete the rout.
Now, Howe's men are being touted as a dangerous side to come up against on the European stage, with Dortmund being told that their singular point 'is not enough' to keep their dreams of lifting the Champions League alive.
German media outlet Bild claim that Dortmund needed to win each of their three home games in order to have chance of making it out of the 'Group of Death', but following their draw last night haven't shown their true skill - something that Dortmund manager Edin Terzic pointed out after the match.
Speaking to DAZN, he said: "As a rule, you need around ten points in the group phase to move into the next round.
If you calculate that down, you know how important the home games are.
" It means that Dortmund will now need to overcome their difficulties in at least one away trip in order to give themselves a chance of reaching the next stage of the competition.
But according to Bild, his side completely lacked the 'penetration' to actually make an impact on the game, something that Howe and company will love to hear given how they've already managed to shut down the likes of PSG forwards Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele as well as AC Milan's dangerman Rafael Leao in their first two matches.
The report claims that shortly before the final whistle, Dortmund showed their weakness defensively and almost 'trembled again' in the face of a relentless Milan who were pushing for the win.
They also mention that they would've been 'satisfied' with the point, despite earlier arguing that only getting a point won't have seemed like enough before the match.
Either way, Newcastle will no doubt want to prove their incredible showing against PSG was no fluke.
But having won five of their last six - and with Burnley and Crystal Palace in between them and the Dortmund clash, it's entirely possible that they'll be coming back to the competition on an even higher level.
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