Thank you, Dortmund (and North Rhine-Westphalia!)

There was understandable delight at the manner in which Lucien Favre's side stormed to a swashbuckling 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, but also at the successful circumstances in which the match took place - by no means a matter of course for a Bundesliga match in these confused times. A total of 9,300 fans came to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK for the visit of the Lower-Rhine-based club. According to the current regulations in place, 75% of attendees had to reside in Dortmund, with the other 25% coming from the rest of North Rhine-Westphalia. All fans respected the new Corona rules of play in exemplary fashion - from entering the ground, sitting in the stands, moving through circulation areas and leaving after the final whistle. 

Despite all buoyant mood, Monday in the BVB office on the Rheinlanddamm was nonetheless marked by hard work, as staff took an objective look at the weekend and analysed what could be improved on. The biggest and most important finding? The almost seamless organisational interaction between the club, local authorities, the security forces and, most importantly, all fans in and around the stadium, was deserving of a big and honest thank you!

''There is no place for complacency at Borussia Dortmund, so we feel both determined and obliged to use the coming days to examine our remaining weaknesses and optimise that which needs improving,'' says BVB managing director Carsten Cramer. ''A lot of preparation,'' will be required for the upcoming home game against SC Freiburg on 3 October. As a first (public) step, the application portal for the limited number of tickets available will be re-opened on Wednesday evening.

The exact number of spectators and the criteria to be used for the distribution of tickets, in consultation with the city and local authorities, are expected to be announced next Monday. This will be based in part on the seven-day incidence of new infections in Dortmund.