Klopp plays down Borussia chances

After winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles and a German Cup title, the pressure is on Borussia Dortmund to do it all again.

Dortmund face Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga curtain-raiser on Friday night, and manager Juergen Klopp is already playing down expectations.

“We can’t win more than three points on Friday, so nobody should expect anything more than these three points,” he said.

“We are happy if people notice that there is still the same squad in the yellow shirts, playing with the same heart on the pitch like last year, that’s what I would like.

“Then we’ll all have the same expectations.”

But even after claiming the domestic double and capping their season with an impressive 5-2 win over rivals Bayern Munich, Klopp said his team can still improve.

“I think they all can improve different things,” the 45-year-old said.

“For example, we have to be more dangerous in front of the goal and cleverer in the match, which you learn with experience. This only works if we play well throughout the season as a team.

“I just gave an interview and said that it’s very rare that a team plays badly and one player makes a huge improvement.”

Following the departure of star midfielder Shinji Kagawa to Manchester United, Dortmund’s hopes of retaining their title will have been bolstered by the news Polish striker Robert Lewandowski appears to be staying.

The club have rejected a number of approaches for the 24-year-old who scored 22 goals in the Bundesliga last season.

And the champions will be hoping he can help transfer domestic glory into European success this season.