An the end of an evening intoxicated, even the BVB kids were allowed to play. Ludwig Hummels and little Eden Haller ran the ball into the goal a couple of times to huge cheers, tens of thousands of fans in the south stand smashed the age-old stadium hit from the Lederhosen and Bayern – getting in the mood for the high-voltage summit of the league on Saturday, April 1 (6:30 p.m in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) was electrifying. The challenger travels to Munich on an equal footing with the permanent champions, (almost) everything is at stake: After the international break, it counts!
“We have a great game ahead of us, but a few of our players will come back for that, that will be good,” said captain Marco Reus after Borussia Dortmund’s spectacular 6-1 (4-1) gala against the 1. FC Cologne. The showdown follows on April 1st. “It’s not decisive yet,” emphasized Reus, but caution is no longer required: “It will be very important – and hopefully we will be ready.”
It’s almost a shame that the schedule now includes international matches. Nico Schlotterbeck and Jamal Musiala, Emre Can and Joshua Kimmich will fight together against Peru and Belgium, they will take care not to hurt themselves: Then they will see each other again in Munich as bitter opponents in the fight for the championship trophy.
“On hand when it comes to the sausage”
“There are nine Bundesliga games in which there is a lot at stake,” said BVB coach Edin Terzic, with a sideways glance at the table and the DFB Cup quarter-finals at RB Leipzig (April 5), he stated with satisfaction: “We’re there when it comes to the sausage.” But the brakes aren’t completely released yet: “Where should we get the right to claim that we’ll be at the top at the end of the season?” asked Terzic. “But that doesn’t mean that we won’t do everything we can for it.”
Anyone who wanted to give Dortmunders signs of a crisis after the Champions League elimination and the disappointing derby at Schalke 04 (2: 2) can stop straight away. BVB dismantled the – albeit badly battered – Cologne, four of six goals were small works of art. “It was a successful and enjoyable evening, really good from goalkeeper to striker,” said Terzic. “We can praise all players.”
Successful BVB goalscorers among themselves: Marco Reus and Sébastien Haller
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Image: AFP
It was particularly impressive that Borussia defied their personnel problems without any problems. Can suspended, Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko injured, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel caught cold, Julian Brandt unable to play – so what?
Instead of whining, BVB really got going. Sebastien Haller scored twice, as did Reus. And the captain indicated that the eternal discussion about extending his contract will soon be resolved: “We are in talks. I would like to end my career here.”
So everything is fine again at BVB, who, as Terzic proudly calculated, has scored 28 out of a possible 30 Bundesliga points this year. If Bayern add three more, things will get serious: Then the league will finally get another terrifically exciting final.
