Everyone becomes really serious following the competitive nature of these elite leagues. Borrusia Dortmund are not only the elite side that's having a competitive good run in the UEFA Champions League. We have other competitive clubs that are closing in to accumulate good points on the table. Borrusia Dortmund faces Barcelona next and that's simply a tough run down I'd you ask me. Nuri Sahin is having a close watch about the tough oppositions this season, ranking 4th position on UCL table and also in the race for Bundesliga title, watching him having whole priorities to handle.
The nature of a competition triggers the players to show more effect and play more to their best when given the opportunity. Borussia Dortmund to me are not the best team participating in the champions league but their performance there have been top notch that you’ll think they’re also replicating same thing in their Bundesliga games, but it is never like that. Ranking 4th in the champions league shows how much they’re already doing well in the competition. They’ve played five matches and out of more than 30 teams, they’re ranking 4th position, that’s a remarkable one for them. Nuri Sahin should try and do same to put their hope alive for the Bundesliga title because they need it too.
But the more participants in the group, the harder it is to fly out of it, isn't it? It's one thing to take third place in a group of 4 teams with 6 games, and quite another to take 25th place in a group of 36 teams with 8 games. Plus, did you notice that before there were 16 teams in the playoffs, but now there are 24? That is, an additional 8 teams have a chance to get to the quarterfinals if they win the preliminary playoffs. Therefore, I would not say that the group stage of the Champions League is difficult, on the contrary, and therefore clubs do not take it seriously.
This all falls back to each team showing their resistivity as a team to not relent no matter what. Not only Ream Madrid is playing in the competition and using the tight schedule for the season as an excuse of now performing well is just like underrating themselves. If other smaller teams compared to them can be this good and are currently above them in the standings and also not complaining, I feel they shouldn’t also. The format has been changed and it’s now in their own capacity to also adapt to the change in order to be victorious in the competition too.