Leon Goretzka has defended his congratulations to Borussia Dortmund for the successful comeback in the Bundesliga top game against FC Bayern.
The former Schalke professional had received angry reactions from some Munich fans for an Instagram post (“Congratulations @bvb09 on the comeback”) after the 2-2 win at the weekend. “As soon as the game is over, you should keep your sportsmanship despite all the emotions,” said Goretzka when asked about the subject before the Champions League game at Viktoria Pilsen.
The 27-year-old remarked that he saw no problem in congratulating his opponent on a successful comeback. He only noticed the reactions marginally and did not read the individual comments. “There’s only one thing to say about that: in the 90 minutes that I was on the pitch, nobody can blame me for not doing everything to win,” said the Munich goalscorer to make it 1-0. Goretzka continued: “I also lived a healthy rivalry. In general, I have a very special relationship with Dortmund, also because of my past,” the Bochum native recalled his professional years at BVB’s archrival FC Schalke 04.
