Tuchel focused on victory in Leipzig amid Dortmund fan protest

Thomas Tuchel insists Borussia Dortmund’s focus is on footballing matters this weekend, despite their fans’ impending protest against opponents RB Leipzig.

Unhappy at the top-flight status of a club owned by energy drink giant Red Bull, a number of Dortmund fans are planning to boycott the away fixture, instead opting to watch their own reserve team.

Tuchel, though, has eyes only for on-field issues, as he aims to build on an opening-day Bundesliga win over Mainz.

“As a coach it’s my duty to focus on Leipzig’s sporting qualities,” he told a press conference. “They defend compactly, attack aggressively and are hard-running.

“We know what we’ll have to expect. We need an absolute top performance to beat them. We have to be awake.”

And Tuchel refused to be drawn on the protest, again reiterating he and his players are simply aiming to take three points from the Red Bull Arena.

“I can understand if people behold a project [like Leipzig] as strange,” he continued. “But we also have to understand that time is moving on.

“Maybe there could have been a smoother solution than calling it RB. But I’m far away from judging it.

“The fan protest won’t be a subject in the preparation. The players have to watch videos and get enough input as it is.”