Champions League round of 16 power rankings
By James Dudko
5. Borussia Dortmund
Like Napoli, Dortmund’s strength is up top, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and a host of others can expose any defense. Aubameyang is the main man, but Marco Reus, Ousmane Dembele, Shinji Kagawa, Mario Gotze, Andre Schurrle and Christian Pulisic all provide a threat of their own.
Yet for all their forward-thinking verve and guile, Dortmund are usually vulnerable defensively. The 2013 finalists shipped nine goals in the group stage and are off the pace in the Bundesliga. They’re down in fourth place, 15 points off leaders Bayern and coming off a loss to last-place Darmstadt.
Results have been impressive in Europe, though, with two draws against Real highlighting the group stage. Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel will also be confident his side can at least go one round further after being handed Benfica in the draw.