"We started out in eighth place. At the moment we're second, but we're not entirely satisfied because of the two points that we dropped on Monday," says Peter Stöger in reference to the 1-1 draw against Augsburg in the last match of February. "They [the two points] would've given us some breathing space, which we now don't have. Now we have to face a competitor who is chasing us. But we can live with that."

In minus temperatures, the Black & Yellows take on a Leipzig team that are hot on their heels. Augustin opens the scoring for the men from Saxony 30 minutes into a match that is frenetic and hard-fought in equal measure, but an on-form Borussia Dortmund restore parity through Reus on the 38-minute mark. Unfortunately, though, the visitors fail to make their dominance count and it ends all square.

That match is followed by another high-octane encounter when BVB square off against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga the following week. The Black & Yellows take a deserved early lead when Frankfurt's Marco Russ bundles the ball into his own net, though had he not done so Reus would have been lurking in wait to tap home the opener. Yet Stöger's men cannot manage to convert one of their four good opportunities in the remainder of what is an interesting half, and they come under increasing pressure in the second period before Jovic eventually levels the score at 1-1 on 75 minutes. Michy Batshuayi finds the net 75 seconds later to make it 2-1 and put BVB back in the driving seat, only for Eintracht to level on the 91-minute mark. But there was to be one final twist, with on-loan Belgian Batshuayi slotting home in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time to send Signal Iduna Park into raptures.

Their success on the domestic front is not matched in the Europa League, however. BVB face eventual semi-finalists FC Salzburg in the last 16, with the Austrians surprisingly winning the first leg in Dortmund 2-1. Roman Bürki makes several first-half saves in the second leg to keep his side in the tie, but his team-mates Alex Isak (70, 73) and Maximilian Philipp (72) spurn some clear-cut chances and the game ends goalless. Hans-Joachim Watzke pulls no punches. "This season we've completely failed on the European stage, both in the Champions League and in the Europa League!"

In the Bundesliga, though, the Black & Yellows keep firmly on course as they claim a second home win − a 1-0 victory over Hannover 96 thanks to Batshuayi − in eight days. But March does not end on a happy note for BVB as they slump to a 6-0 defeat at Bayern Munich. Michael Zorc delivers a sobering assessment: "We went down without a fight."

However, the sporting director did have reason to smile in the run-up to that game when Marco Reus penned a new deal that ties him to the club until summer 2023. "Dortmund is my home and BVB is my club!" said the midfielder. Zorc himself then signs a new contract until 2021. "The sporting successes of the past 10 years are closely linked with his name: Michael Zorc stands for competence, loyalty and identification," declares Hans-Joachim Watzke.

In other news, the fastest man in the world fulfils a long-held dream as Usain Bolt trains with the BVB senior squad.
Boris Rupert