Mats Hummels saw “good and bad” in his side’s warm-up match against Düsseldorf on Saturday. “We definitely still have to work on some things, but we also had a tough week.” Overall, so the Dortmund skipper, the team looks to be in good shape, but only the match against first Bundesliga game against Leverkusen will show where they are at. Asked about his fitness, Hummels said that he’s “much better shape than in the first half of the season.”

Mats, how pleased are you with the 1-1 draw against Düsseldorf?

There was good and bad in our game. We definitely still have to work on some things, but we also had a tough week with two games. We will be much fitter when we face Leverkusen next week. We were a bit better against Utrecht, but I’m confident that we will play much better next Saturday.

How pleased are you with the preparations overall?

Apart from the injuries some players suffered, we’ve all worked very well. We all seem to be in good shape which is vital to be successful in the Bundesliga and the other competitions.

How important has the preparation period been for you personally after struggling with injuries in the first half of the season?

I’m in a much better shape than in the first half of the season. In the 90 minutes against Utrecht I felt, despite the tough training sessions before, in top shape. I felt better than in any of the games in the first half of the season and that’s an important step. However, it’s no guarantee that I will play the way I expect myself to play, but it’s a good basis to start from.

The Bundesliga resumes business in a week. You face a tough schedule of games at the start with three games in eight days. How well prepared are you?

Only time will tell, it’s always like this in a preseason. You think you are in good shape, but you can’t say for sure. Competitive matches are a whole different ball game. You just never know for sure. But, of course, I hope we will be off to a better start than in the first game. In the last couple of years we have always had close, but also some good matches in Leverkusen. I hope we can repeat it next week.