Dortmund looking to Adeyemi for more after 3-goal haul in Champions League

BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin is hoping Karim Adeyemi’s starring performance against Celtic in the Champions League is just a harbinger of what’s to come from the player.

The 22-year-old Adeyemi scored a hat trick and might have scored more in Dortmund’s 7-1 win on Tuesday. Sahin wants to see it on a consistent basis.

“What Karim has, the whole package, is so good, but together we have to see that we get that on the field every three days, in every training session,” Sahin said.

Adeyemi has struggled for consistency since arriving in Dortmund from Salzburg in 2022. Last season he scored three goals in 21 Bundesliga appearances and two as Dortmund reached the Champions League final. This season he already looks like a transformed player.

Adeyemi has scored two and set up three more in Dortmund’s five Bundesliga games, while he already eclipsed last season’s mark in the Champions League on Tuesday. Adeyemi was also fouled for a penalty converted by Serhou Guirassy.

“Wingers and attacking players are going to score goals and that’s how they’re measured,” Sahin said. “But what impressed me today was the work against the ball, that’s the benchmark for Karim, how I measure him.”

Adeyemi also earned praise from Dortmund captain Emre Can.

“He played brilliantly, not just today, but also the last weeks,” Can said. “He’s playing with more maturity, with more determination. That’s the requirement.”

Adeyemi’s next chance to impress comes at Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday — if he overcomes a right thigh injury that forced him from the field early in the second half on Tuesday. He has been set back by thigh injuries before.

“I hope it’s not so serious and that I’m back soon,” Adeyemi said. “It didn’t feel so bad today, I’m positive.”

Adeyemi was not included on Thursday in the Germany squad for Nations League games against Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands, though he scored five for the under-21 team in September.

“I haven’t always had the best first halves of the season,” Adeyemi told reporters after the Celtic game. “Now things are different and, I’m trying to not just help the team in the second half of the season, but also in the first half. That’s why I don’t want to rest on my laurels.”

After Union on Saturday and the international break, the Bundesliga resumes for Dortmund on Oct. 18 against St. Pauli followed by a visit to defending champion Real Madrid in the Champions League.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press