Borussia Dortmund boss pays Newcastle United the ultimate compliment in just two words

Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic says his team's back-to-back wins over Newcastle United is a "great achievement".

The Magpies' hopes of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League hang in the balance after defeats to the Bundesliga outfit, both on Tyneside and at the Signal Iduna Park in the last fortnight.

Eddie Howe's men are nine games unbeaten domestically with Dortmund the only side to beat United since their 3-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion in August.

"A great achievement for us because we didn't let it happen," said Terzic.

"We knew about the quality [of Newcastle], especially up front, they are very flexible, they are very mobile and can swap between four at the back, three at the back and always looking for balls in behind, always looking for balls into the pockets in between the lines.

"This is something we tried to stop and we've managed that quite well, especially today.

"In the second half, it was a very dominant game from Newcastle but I think we defended well, attacked really well, used every open space for us and I think it was a well-deserved win.

"It's a great compliment for our team that we've kept two clean sheets against Newcastle, this is something that not many teams manage to do. We're really happy with both games." 

Terzic was responding to Howe's claim that Dortmund hadn't seen the best of Newcastle in the last two games.

“Very similar to Dortmund last month," said Howe. "A frustration on our performance knowing there is more in the tank to give. We’re better than that and can show a better version of ourselves than we did.

“I don’t think Dortmund have seen the best Newcastle and that always leaves a feeling of frustration. But we accept it, we’ve delivered it and we have to look to the future now.”

Newcastle sit bottom of Group F, two points off qualification, and will likely need to beat both Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan in their remaining games to progress.