Hertha BSC, VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96: Borussia Dortmund have chalked up two wins and a draw from three games in the last seven days. But that was just the beginning: now come six more tough games in succession up until the 5 March.

On average, then, a game every three days, including tricky fixtures, such as the two games against FC Porto in the Europa League and the Bundesliga games against Leverkusen, and, more than any other, Bayern Munich. Mammoth tasks indeed, but which BVB feels ready to take on. "We feel ready for the challenges of the coming weeks" said BVB manager Thomas Tuchel after the game against Hannover 96, a game in which his team could, arguably, have performed better, but from which, nonetheless, they took the three points. Important numbers, which were all the more valuable after Hertha BSC’s slip up at VfB Stuttgart.

"We have topped up on self-confidence for the coming matches"

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The gap between BVB and Leverkusen in third and Berlin in fourth now amounts to 13 points. The gap between second and fifth placed Schalke is now 15 points, and would remain at 13 points if Gladbach manage to win on Sunday. Qualification for the Champions League already seems to be mathematical for the Black and Yellows this season.

However, the game against Hannover highlighted that things don’t always run perfectly smoothly for Dortmund, even in this incredible run, during which BVB have collected more points than in the entire 14/15 season. It was a "hard won victory", to which Thomas Tuchel attributed great importance, "even if for large periods of the game it didn’t look as good and easy as it normally does for us".

The mentality of his team was what impressed the manager the most, especially the aggression his team developed to keep themselves in the game. The Black and Yellows wanted to go into the coming weeks with self-confidence taken from this match. Shinji Kagawa agreed with Tuchel’s comments: "It was important to top up on self-confidence so that we can go into the coming matches in the right frame of mind."

Porto will be a huge obstacle

Borussia have already had a similarly packed phase in this season. They played seven games in 23 days in autumn. They won every one, with the Ruhr derby victory the crowning glory. The men from Westphalia hope to achieve a similarly impressive run this spring, at best, of course, with a win against the Bavarians in three weeks time in a "grand final".

Even if the path looks to be rocky, the team believes itself to be strong enough for the coming tasks. "We must recover well now so that we are ready for Porto", said winning goal scorer Henrikh Mkhitaryan on Saturday. "We have already begun. Now we must clear the first huge obstacle that is the Portuguese out of the way."

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich