When Borussia Dortmund spoke of their "fresh start" at the beginning of this season, one of the main demands was to recreate the "Dortmund feeling". Fierceness, passion and identity were keywords that matched the sentiment.

After eight competitive games, which is still the very start of a long process, it is plain to see that the team has morale. They exuberantly celebrated a 4-2 away win with their fans in Leverkusen which was the fourth time this season that they came from behind (Fürth, Leipzig, Hoffenheim) or after a setback (when Frankfurt equalised to make it 1-1) to win on three occasions or to draw once. It was at the BayArena when BVB came back from being two goals behind at halftime for the first time in 36 years. Winning goals came from Paco Alcácer in the 85th minute to make it 3-2 and in the 94th minute to make it 4-2, which were the ninth and tenth goals of the season for BVB, both coming after the 84th minute of play.

"From 0-2 to 4-2, that's quite something," stated the delightful coach, Lucien Favre, "We played very well in the second half, with a lot of pace." It took 14.8 seconds from Roman Bürki's throw, which allowed Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus to collaborate, until the goal was scored to make it 2-2. Bürki, whose fantastic stops were not just a great part of yesterday's success but also, in general, was, "incredibly proud of the team."

The game didn't start well with "unnecessary errors" (Favre) causing goals to be conceded in the first half. The young defence with an average age of 20.75 years slipped up after failing to clear the ball from a corner, which resulted in going 2-0 down. A lack of communication made each defender think that the other one would clear it.

But despite being two goals down and only having two chances from Pulisic and Reus, it was noticeable early on that the team kept calm and managed to deal with the intense pressing from Leverkusen, "Even when there was no space, we managed to create it," said Sebastian Kehl on the TV show Aktuellen Sportstudio. The head of the liscenced player division continued, saying, "When we made it 2-1, you could see the quality of the team. The way they went on the pitch in the second half was extraordinary. We were hungry to win the game"

The end result was a spectacular 4-2 putting BVB top of the table - an added bonus but nothing more. "Quite honest," said Hans-Joachim Watzke who wasn't talking about the party atmosphere in the stands but in fact the kind words that came from all sides. "It's all going too fast and in different directions for me."

On Wednesday, the next test is already waiting for the new Borussia. AS Monaco will be visiting the Signal Iduna Park in the UEFA Champions League. There are still some tickets left.

Boris Rupert