No joke as giants drop by to train!

German giants Borussia Dortmund have certainly heard about the facilities at the Premier Division club's Marine Travel Arena.

Pictured warming up for their Europa League clash with Liverpool on Thursday night, Thomas Tuchel's squad dropped into Crosby to undergo an hour-long training session before returning to their team hotel ahead of their crunch last eight showdown at Anfield.

Watched by a crowd of onlookers on College Road, the likes of Marco Reus, Mats Hummels, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ilkay Gundogan were put through their paces.

Marine chairman Paul Leary told the Liverpool Echo that he was proud to have been able to welcome the Bundesliga giants to Crosby but said he thought their initial request was a wind-up!

He said: “When the e-mail landed from Borussia Dortmund, it was April 1! We got the request asking if they could use our facilities for a training session on the morning of the game, and I had to say 'look, if this is an April Fools' joke then stop now!

“But it's great for the club and the local area, to have these players here. It's been a stressful couple of weeks worrying about the logistics and what not, but I can relax now. They did an hour on the pitch, the full squad, and then off they went.”

Leary added: “I did ask them if they could maybe loan us a couple of players for our next crucial league game, but I had to make do with a signed shirt!”

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