Borussia Dortmund go into combat mode before Chelsea showdown

T hey say that history is written by the winners, but it never felt, before this season, as if Borussia Dortmund would be in the position to pick up their pen. Now, it might be different. It felt that way when Nico Schlotterbeck, the crown prince of defensive drama in these parts, saw Timo Werner’s late shot speed past Alexander Meyer, Dortmund’s stand-in goalkeeper, and reacted to clear off the line with a mixture of chest and shoulder, all but sealing the win. Schlotterbeck clenched his fists, celebrating it like a goal.

It wasn’t quite Roman Weidenfeller smothering Arjen Robben’s penalty late on when Bayern visited Westfalen in the spring of 2012, but it was in the same sphere of emotion. And emotion was what it was all about in those closing stages as BVB hung on with a grimness almost all thought was beyond them as RB Leipzig banged on the door with increasing insistence, particularly so after Emil Forsberg pulled a goal back with 16 minutes of normal time left.

Yet if the cliche always has the victorious smoothing out the bumps in the road of a triumphant tale, nobody connected with Dortmund will want to do that when they describe a 10th win – a vital win – in a row, maintaining an improbable 100% record in 2023. That they have found different ways to win, and to show resolve, is a badge of honour.

“We came through by being combative,” enthused Meyer to DAZN, having stepped in for his first game since November at a few moments’ notice when Gregor Kobel felt muscle tightness in the warmup. “We missed that a bit in the first half of the season.” You can say that again. A side that were talented but with a soft underbelly have, from nowhere, found it in themselves to dig in.

There is still plenty left of what Edin