The league is taking a little break, but Borussia will keep up their rhythm. Next Saturday, BVB will meet Holstein Kiel in the DFB Cup semi-final. The first of final three league games will not take place until 8 May. The Black and Yellows are also back into a decent position in the league.

It was not a victory in a "final", because there was no trophy for the Black and Yellows to win in Wolfsburg on Saturday – just the chance to achieve something in the matches to come in the next few weeks – namely qualification for the UEFA Champions League. With three games to go before the end of the season, BVB reduced the gap to fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt to one point and closed to within two points of VfL Wolfsburg in third. Both are now back within striking distance.

"We absolutely wanted to win to stay in the hunt. And we managed to do that," said Sebastian Kehl after the 2-0 win in Wolfsburg, which was all the more remarkable because the team had to play the final 36 minutes (including injury time) with ten men. That is why Kehl issued very high praise indeed, speaking of a "terrific achievement".

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In the seventh game in just 22 days (!) the team had to push to their physical limits "and even beyond our limits," said captain Marco Reus. "We played very well as a team and we also defended brilliantly with ten men," added Manuel Akanji. Jude Bellingham had been sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 58th minute. "I don't think there's any question about the second yellow card," said Edin Terzic, but was angry that "we got a yellow card straight away for the first foul in the first half."

After initial chances to extend the 1-0 lead at the beginning of the second half, it became a defensive battle after the red card. "We defended with everything we have in us. This was the third week in a row that we've had midweek games, including lots of big games," Terzic said: "We left it all on the pitch. We were fighting for the chance to close the gap to the opposition to two points, and that was excellent.  We are proud to bring the three points home with us."

The game finished 2-0 thanks to another brace from Haaland, but also thanks to an excellent team performance in which BVB allowed Wolfsburg's attackers, including with their top goalscorer Wout Weghorst, almost no chances. The victory took BVB up to 55 points – one behind Eintracht Frankfurt (remaining fixtures: Mainz, Schalke, Freiburg) and two behind VfL Wolfsburg (remaining fixtures: Union Berlin, Leipzig, Mainz).

"We have now moved into a better position, but that alone will not help us," said Terzic on Saturday: "We have to take advantage of this situation. Today we are happy about the victory, tomorrow we will recover, and from Monday we will keep going as we have been. We must not let up. Then it will also be possible to win the next three games."
Boris Rupert