Match-winner Mats Hummels had to be substituted off with an injury in the 86th minute. Shortly beforehand, he had connected with a set-piece and narrowly missed the opportunity to seal his hat-trick – then he sprinted back and felt it...

On the BVB Net Radio, Norbert Dickel suspected bad news. "I think he said sh**", said Dickel as he watched the TV replays. "My thigh seized up at that moment," confirmed the two-time goalscorer after the final whistle, before uttering a sentence that bodes well ahead of the Champions League game on Wednesday and – even more importantly – the Bundesliga match at home to Bayern Munich. "Fortunately, I didn't feel a twinge, which is at least a good sign."

The medical department, in particular the physios, can organise some special sessions. "The thigh muscle is tight, that'll have to be worked on for a few days," said Hummels. "But I obviously hope to win the race against time for Wednesday."

Hummels' brace – only his second-ever in the Bundesliga (the first came back in 2010) – meant that Borussia Dortmund came away from their trip to Bielefeld with a 2-0 victory. It is their fourth win in a row and leaves them with 15 points after six matches. Only in 2013 and 2016 (both 16) have they had a better tally at this stage of the season.

"We showed pretty good concentration levels for the whole game," said Hummels. While they "didn't create 15 clear-cut opportunities", it was "enough to deserve to win the game, however. We did a really good and serious job. That was a mature performance." It was the fifth time the Black & Yellows have kept a clean sheet and, if you factor in the DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League, it was their seventh clean sheet in nine matches.
Boris Rupert / Timo Lammert