37 points for Bayern Munich. From a possible 39. 33 for Borussia Dortmund. BVB's formidable second half of the season is the second best in club history (after 2011/12) and has seen Lucien Favre's side tighten their grip on second place in the table. For the first time this season, BVB have a seven-point lead over the team placed fifth - meaning the Black & Yellows are well on their way to securing a place in Europe's elite club competition, helped in no small way by the fact that all of their direct competitors slipped up on Matchday 30: Leipzig drew 1-1 at home to Paderborn, Gladbach went down 1-0 in Freiburg, while Leverkusen lost 4-2 to Bayern. 

''If you have a chance to take the lead, you have to make the most of it,'' said Julian Brandt after the 1-0 win over Hertha BSC. The Berlin side's endless running and compact shape gave the Black & Yellows precious little space to work with, meaning the 1-0 victory is one which will ultimately be stored in the ''hard-fought'' category. It took a stroke of genius from Jadon Sancho and Julian Brand to pave the way for Emre Can's winning goal. Sancho had two further gilt-edged opportunities to put the game to bed. Had he been able to apply the finishing touches to a wonderful solo run in the 90th minute, then the goal would almost certainly have found its way into any textbook on how to outmanoeuvre well-organised opponents.

Alas it wasn't to be for Sancho. When all was said and done, it was Emre Can who grabbed the all-important goal, scored after a corner cleared by the Berlin rearguard was recovered by Axel Witsel. ''Up front I had a chance to score a goal. I'm glad it worked out,'' said Emre Can, who marshalled the Black & Yellow defence in the absence of Mats Hummels. Head coach Lucien Favre instructed his three-man defensive line - made up of Piszczek, Can and Akanji - to try and get forward whenever the opportunity presented itself. ''One of the three of them could move up into attacking positions,'' said Favre, adding: ''I had a good feeling about it.'' 

Since the league resumed in mid-May, there had only been nine home wins in 41 matches going into today's game. Without the fervent support of the home crowd, without the yellow wall behind them, BVB managed to seize the 10th win for a home team and now join Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC as the only teams to win two matches at home since the league went behind closed doors. 

''It was a tough match. We controlled it well and in the end we ran out deserved winners,'' said Favre in his post-match interview with Aktuellen Sportstudio. He evoked ''three or four clear goal-scoring opportunities in the second half,'' which was, in his words, ''not bad.'' The Black & Yellows have been grabbing the headlines with their high-octane attacking play, but plaudits also have to go to the defence, who have only conceded twice in the five matches since the restart - the best record in the league by some distance.  

Boris Rupert