A source of unbridled emotion and enthusiasm, the Yellow Wall has been Borussia's 12th man for more than 40 years. But when BVB hosted Wolfsburg in mid-February it stood empty for the first – and hopefully only – time after the DFB ordered a partial stadium closure as punishment for the riots that took place when RB Leipzig were in town.

81,360 spectators – among them 8,000 travelling fans from Leipzig – attended the first home game of 2017 at Signal Iduna Park, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang deservedly opened the scoring on 35 minutes. But while BVB looked defensively solid, even as the second half progressed, they failed to deliver the knockout blow and the visitors would have stolen a point in the fourth minute of added time if their last-gasp leveller had not been disallowed for offside. Unfortunately, the football was overshadowed by riots that took place around the stadium and defamatory banners that were held aloft during the game, for which Borussia Dortmund profusely apologised to the visitors on several occasions. The DFB reacted by triggering a suspended sentence for an earlier incident and closing the lower tiers of the South Stand for one league game.

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But there was cause for celebration a few days later as the Black & Yellows beat Hertha BSC 3-2 on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. The 80,500 spectators in attendance saw Salomon Kalou fire the visitors into an entirely deserved lead on the 27-minute mark, but the hosts stamped their authority on the match in the second period with Marco Reus levelling the scores at 1-1 after Ousmane Dembélé had hit the post (47). They were, however, unable to convert their superiority into further goals and so the game went to penalties. Although Pulisic missed, Dembélé, Aubameyang and Castro all found the net; those spot-kicks, combined with a Roman Bürki save from Darida and misses from Lustenberger and Kalou, saw BVB through.

Borussia's 09-match unbeaten run in competitive matches came to an end when SV Darmstadt 09 condemned the Black & Yellows to a first defeat since November 2016 on Matchday 20. In truth, BVB never got into the game as they were beaten 2-1 by the Bundesliga's bottom side. Former Dortmund player Terrence Boyd put the hosts ahead on 21 minutes and, although Raphael Guerreiro levelled on the stroke of half-time, Antonio Colak converted one of several second-half chances to deservedly put the Lilies 2-1 ahead on 67 minutes. That loss was followed by another disappointment at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, where BVB dominated every statistic – more possession (65 percent), completed passes (590-212), shots on goal (14-4) and chances (9-1) – except the one that mattered as they were beaten 1-0 in the Portuguese capital in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.

They returned to winning ways against VfL Wolfsburg, however, winning 3-0 in front of an empty South Stand to move up to third place – the third and final automatic Champions League qualifying berth –for the first time since Matchday 11. Second-half strikes from Lukasz Piszczek (48), who was involved in all three goals, and Ousmane Dembélé (59) wrapped up the points after Bruma had scored an own goal for the visitors. BVB followed that up with a win by the same scoreline in Freiburg courtesy of Sokratis, Aubameyang and Durm.

The DFB Cup tie at Sportfreunde Lotte was called off after the pitch was deemed to be unplayable, while the U19s exited the UEFA Youth League following a 4-1 defeat at FC Barcelona. They defended their 1-0 lead valiantly up until the break before the Catalans turned the tide, but reaching the Round of 16 is still an excellent achievement. The youngsters also gained recognition for their conduct off the pitch, with UEFA thanking the BVB delegation that visited Israel for their play-off clash with Maccabi Haifa. "You set an example for other clubs. We value your exemplary commitment and outstanding dedication," read the letter from European football's governing body.

In personnel news, Mario Götze discovered the reason behind his repeated muscular problems: an extensive internal investigation into possible causes revealed the player was suffering from a metabolic disorder. Meanwhile, Sebastian Rode went under the knife due to a groin complaint.
Boris Rupert

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