When the music stopped playing in January, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found himself at Arsenal, Olivier Giroud was at Chelsea while Michy Batshuayi ended up at Dortmund. Of that trio, it is probably the latter who has impressed most with five goals in his first four games.
His late winner against Atalanta in the first leg of their last 32 Europa League tie last week ultimately proved critical as Dortmund eeked out progress last night: a late goal by Marcel Schmelzer goal last night earned a 1-1 draw away from home, and thus a 4-3 aggregate victory.
During the course of the game, Batshuayi claims to have been subject to racist chanting by the Italian fans. The Belgian striker tweeted an admirable response to the abuse after the game:
2018 and still racists monkey noises in the stands ... really ?! 🤦🏾♂️ hope you have fun watching the rest of @EuropaLeague on TV while we are through 🙊🙈🙉 #SayNoToRacism #GoWatchBlackPanther ✌🏾
— Michy Batshuayi (@mbatshuayi) February 22, 2018
Yep lol https://t.co/1fEFQCNGUn
— Michy Batshuayi (@mbatshuayi) February 22, 2018
It is not the first time the troglodytes have marred an Atalanta game. Last month, Atalanta received a suspended one-game stand closure after Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly was subjected to racist chants during a Serie A game.
Dortmund progress to the last 16, and will learn their opponents later today.
