Tuchel defends under-fire Bartra

Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel has defended Marc Bartra in the wake of the Spaniard’s poor run of form.

Bartra joined Dortmund from Barcelona during the close-season and quickly broke into the starting XI at the Signal Iduna Park.

He has struggled to find consistency, though, and has received his fair share of criticism in recent weeks.

However, Tuchel is adamant Bartra’s difficulties are only normal for a player who is still adapting and has backed the centre-back to overcome his struggles.

“He is not used to the intensity of the training and the matches in the Bundesliga,” Tuchel told the club’s official website. 

“It is an adjustment process that takes time. There are linguistic problems too; but this is a normal acclimatisation period. He is a very open person who is extremely reflective when not everything is going right.

“But we need to acknowledge that he is not used to playing every three days and carrying absolute responsibility for the game.

“Sometimes it [his play] looks a little bit tense or a little bit overambitious out there, but at the core there is always a good intention behind it. For that reason he will continue to get full support.”