Two numbers that tell how much of a force Borussia Dortmund have become in recent years: Real Madrid have lost only five of their last 23 away games in the Champions League – three of those came at Dortmund. And against no side have Bayern Munich lost as many games in the Bundesliga since 2010 as against BVB, suffering five defeats and winning just one in that spell.

The Schwarzgelben are on par with the two of the giants of the game, two sides that are arguably the best in the world. With a relatively modest budget and a squad regularly hit by injuries, the coaching staff has succeeded in forming a team that can perform at the highest level - and not only once in a blue moon but on a regular basis.

On Saturday night, Jürgen Klopp was able to look back on “an exceptional week in which we managed to beat Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – and that in a fantastic fashion.” A 2-0 win over the Spanish giants, and a 3-0 win at the German record champions – anyone predicting those results correctly would have made a lot of money.

“It was just a great game from us“
“It could not have gone any better,” said Erik Durm, reflecting on his performances against both Real and Bayern when he took the likes of Gareth Bale and Arjen Robben out of the game. “Our defence was brilliant. We were constantly in their faces, and they sometimes didn’t know where to play the ball. It was just a great game from us.”

“If we want to get a result here, we have to play different than the other teams,” Jürgen Klopp had told BVB total! in the build-up to the match in which the BVB boss opted for a tactic involving a lot of running and smart attacks. “We came here with a plan and were able to implement most of it. It was hard work today, a lot of hard work.”

But that hard work paid off as they registered their fourth away win on the bounce to take their points tally over the 60 mark. “As points against Bayern Munich are like bonus points for any team, I’m very happy that we were able to snatch three of them,” said the Dortmund coach. With four games to go in the Bundesliga, BVB only require two more points to secure automatic Champions League qualification for the fourth consecutive year, which would be a first in the club’s history.

But the team want more. They want to finish second in the Bundesliga – and they want to get to the German cup final in Berlin where they could face FC Bayern again. “I’m not thinking about that yet,” said Kevin Grosskreutz. “First we need to beat VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday. And we know from last week how good a side they are.”

Past Wolfsburg to the final in Berlin
BVB want to be as fit as possible for the cup semi-final, and for that reason there will be no training in the literal sense until Tuesday. “We actually haven’t trained for a long time,” said Klopp, adding: “There will be extended recovery time and a light session on Monday.” That should be enough to recharge the batteries as much as possible. Grosskreuzt has promised the fans “a passionate performance as against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.” That and the support of their fans should help pave the way to Berlin.