For good reason, Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic has been asked about goals and ambitions for weeks. His team is winning game after game and is increasingly contesting the title with series champions Bayern Munich. Terzic, however, is always defensive and veiled. He often speaks of “humility” and never of the title. Actually, no one really dares to ask him about his goals and dreams anymore, but on Friday evening, after Dortmund’s 2-1 win against RB Leipzig, after the tenth competitive win in a row and the temporary leap to the top of the Bundesliga, someone tries again. And not just anyone.
At the press conference after the game, however, this questioner was not sitting with the journalists in the auditorium, but up on the podium next to Terzic. The questioner’s name was Marco Rose and he was the coach of RB Leipzig. Rose himself had been asked what Leipzig’s now seven points behind Dortmund might mean, when they are pursuing similar goals as Dortmund, and with this question Rose turned to his Dortmund colleague for help and asked for his assessment. “I don’t even know what goal Dortmund has in concrete terms, Edin?” Rose asked. Terzic replied: “Both clubs are fighting for the Champions League, want to be successful in the DFB Cup and are happy if they advance to a round in the Champions League.” Terzic did not use the term “humility”, but again he did not speak of the championship. The eighth Bundesliga win in a row didn’t change that.
The success against Leipzig with goals from Marco Reus (21′, penalty kick) and Emre Can (39′) against a goal scored by Emil Forsberg (74′) was Dortmund’s successful start to three important games, which Terzic called “the most important week in this season”. This groundbreaking week continues on Tuesday at Chelsea and ends next Saturday at FC Schalke 04. Dortmund’s performance on Friday evening should have impressed both upcoming opponents – at least those from the first half, when BVB really played Leipzig and would have led even higher can than 2-0.
Kobel pulls his thigh while warming up
After the break, however, the teams swapped roles, with the difference that Leipzig missed almost all of their chances to score. Forsberg’s goal wasn’t enough for the deserved draw. Leipzig also failed several times at Dortmund’s substitute goalkeeper Alexander Meyer, who only found out about his assignment five minutes before the start of the game because the first-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel pulled his thigh while warming up. For minutes, Dortmund’s coaching team debated whether they should still use Kobel, but they shied away from the risk with a view to Tuesday’s Champions League game in London. The victory and Meyer’s performance later proved them right. Now they are trying to restore Kobel by Tuesday.
Up until the 72nd minute, the Dortmund team played almost as one against Leipzig. There was no need for a change in personnel, but a coach has to think about the strain on his players when they have to play in London four days later. Terzic therefore decided to make two changes in the 72nd minute: Anthony Modeste and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens came on for Sebastien Haller and Marco Reus. Coincidence or not: Two minutes later, Leipzig scored the goal to make it 2-1.
Reus draws level with Michael Zorc in the all-time BVB top scorer list
From then on, shots on goal from Leipzig just flew around Dortmund’s ears, but in the end BVB defended with ten men in a deep 5-4-1 formation and had the luck of the bold. “We had to tremble, but we are currently working hard to achieve this happiness,” said Reus, who closed the gap with his 1-0 goal to Michael Zorc, second in the all-time BVB goalscorers list. Both come to 159 competitive goals. Reus is now only ahead of Adi Preißler (177 goals in the 40s and 50s) on this list.
Regardless of the outcome, the game against Leipzig was such a fantastic experience that anyone who wants to see it repeated soon can celebrate: On April 5, the two clubs will meet again in Leipzig in the DFB Cup quarter-finals. Four days earlier, on April 1st, the Dortmund team will be visiting FC Bayern Munich for the top Bundesliga game on Saturday evening. When the BVB bus comes, the circus is in town. “Dortmund is on the move” was praise from a qualified voice on Friday evening, namely that of Leipzig goalscorer Forsberg. He raved about BVB’s “incredible quality”.
However, it is uncertain whether Leipzig can slip into the challenger role again. They were unable to win against Bayern (1-1), Union Berlin (1-2) and Dortmund (1-2) in the most recent top-flight games and have lost touch with the top of the table. RB was only successful against Frankfurt (2: 1). “The fact is that we’re looking at everything from a little further back now,” says Rose. But he didn’t want to show any sign of resignation. “Our ambitions remain high.” After a home game against Gladbach next Saturday, Leipzig will try to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League at Manchester City on the Tuesday after next.