BVB kick off Round 21 of the Bundesliga with a thrilling 3-2 victory away at 1. FC Cologne. Simon Zoller levels the score at 1-1 on the hour-mark, before Michy Batshuayi re-establishes the lead with his second goal of the game two minutes later. Cologne again restore parity from a corner in the 69th minute, only for André Schürrle to score the winner following a counter-attack six minutes from time.

259 days after tearing his cruciate ligament in the 2017 DFB Cup final victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, Marco Reus marks his return to action by captaining the Black & Yellows at home to Hamburg. The 81,360 fans at Signal Iduna Park see Peter Stöger's team open the scoring through Batshuayi four minutes after the restart, before Mario Götze makes it 2-0 right at the death to wrap up the victory. It is the 500th time that BVB have won at home in the Bundesliga.

image

A week later, BVB move up to second place following a hard-fought win in Gladbach. But the conditions make the pitch more or less unplayable for the two teams, who are watched by a sell-out crowd at the Borussia-Park. Dortmund break the deadlock thanks to Reus' spectacular opener in the 32nd minute, but it is only thanks to the outstanding Bürki that they manage to keep their lead over an increasingly dominant Gladbach intact. The win sees Peter Stöger become the first BVB coach to go unbeaten in his first eight games in the Bundesliga (W5 D3).

But those three victories are followed by a slight setback as BVB are held to a 1-1 draw at home to FC Augsburg. The Black & Yellows dominate the first period and deservedly take the lead when Reus rounds off a lightning-quick counter-attack. However, the visitors subsequently restore parity courtesy of Ganso's goal and Dortmund fail to carve out any clear-cut opportunities – even as the match enters its closing stages – and the game ends all square.

BVB get a big slice of luck in their UEFA Europa League last 32 tie. The Black & Yellows come from behind to claim a 3-2 first-leg triumph over Atalanta. Schürrle puts the home side 1-0 ahead against the eighth-placed side in Serie A, only for Ilicic to grab a quick brace (51, 56) and turn the game on its head. But Batshuayi equalises only nine minutes later, before latching on to Götze's pass to fire home the winner in second-half stoppage time. In the second leg, Atalanta take the lead but substitutes Reus and Marcel Schmelzer combine for the all-important equaliser seven minutes from time.

Elsewhere, there is some important news from the boardroom. The contracts of managing directors Hans-Joachim Watzke (until 31/12/2022) and Thomas Treß (until 30/06/2022) are prematurely extended, while Carsten Cramer is made an additional managing director. "The extraordinarily successful sporting and economic development of Borussia Dortmund has been inextricably linked to the actions of Hans-Joachim Watzke and his managerial colleague Thomas Treß since 2005," declares President Dr. Reinhard Rauball.
Boris Rupert