The 3-2 victory ove Hannover 96 was inspiring for Borussia Dortmund. Sport manager Michael Zorc already said in the pre-match interview: "Today, we will see if we will still be stuck in the relegation battle or if we can start to focus on the teams above us." After the game, it became obvious that the biggest concerns over relegation were behind the club. "We managed to extricate ourselves from the quagmire", said Jürgen Klopp. We have now eight points head of place 16. No one would have bet on it in early February. 

One month and a half ago, more precisely on 4 February, Borussia Dortmund lost 0-1 to FC Augsburg in their own stadium. This game took place on match day 19, when Borussia Dortmund were stuck in the bottom of the table with 16 points on their board. For the first time in this season, the team was booed off by its own supporters. At the following press conference, Jürgen Klopp looked extremely disappointed. "We must end this string of defeats, he demanded from his team in a very serious tone. Exactly 45 days later, his team definitely made it. 

Really close to the upper part of the table

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„Wer auf die Tabelle schaut, der sieht, wie wichtig der Sieg war“, sagte Jürgen Klopp.

In seven games, Borussia Dortmund have doubled their number of points (now 33), they have moved up eight places in the table and their 10th place makes them really close to the upper part of the table. Just a point separates Borussia Dortmund from Werder Bremen (9th place) and Eintracht Frankfurt (8th place). Even Hoffenheim, ranking 7th with four points ahead of BVB, and Augsburg, ranking 6th with a five point lead over BVB, have now become within reach. Only for the second time this season, the Westphalians have a positive goal ratio (on match day 3 last time). 

"If we look at the table, we can see that the win was really important", said Jürgen Klopp after Hannover clash. Nonetheless, the coach does not necessarily aim at the top of the table. The simple fact that the two next opponents in the Bundesliga are Bayern Munich and Gladbach doesn't let the coach overcome by euphoria. " Once we will be sure that we cannot be relegated, we will count how many match days are left." 

„A strange situation“

In any case, Borussia Dortmund are now out of the relegation battle. In the second leg table, the Black and Yellows even reached the third place with 18 points, only Bayern Munich and Wolsburg had one point more. We can look at the top of the table again with at least one eye opened, even though "we have to keep an eye on the teams below us", as Sebastian Kehl rightly stressed. "It's a strange situation", said the veteran. 

A strange situation that Borussia Dortmund can turn into a positive one in the remaining games up to the end of the saison. The next three matches will be crucial in this respect. With Bayern Munich and Mönchengladbach as the next two fixtures in the Bundesliga calendar, Borussia Dortmund will take on two difficult teams to beat, but first they will meet Hoffenheim in the German Cup quarter-final. 

Reasonable starting point 

"Thrilling weeks are yet to come. I hope that this season will end well", said Sebastian Kehl. He and his team have laid the groundwork for this purpose in the last seven Bundesliga matches. Borussia Dortmund have secured a reasonable starting point to approach the final spurt. Now, it's all about moving forward and getting the best possible result at the end. 
Dennis-Julian Gottschlich