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Borussia Dortmund played bright, attacking soccer and delivered its most luminous performance of the year in a 3-0 dismantling of rivals Schalke on Saturday. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winner.
His celebration turned into the image of the weekend:
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) February 28, 2015
Until recently, most soccer fans posed a version of the same question: “Dortmund aren’t actually in danger of being relegated…right?”
In December, BVB were last in the brutal Bundesliga and showed little promise. The Guardian sheepishly asked about Jurgen Klopp’s job security. Marco Reus was so deep in every January transfer rumor that I thought he was officially gone three different times. I texted my brother each time I was duped by a premature tweet, and each time he screamed back:
“NOT TRUE. NOT TRUE. NOT TRUE.”
Desperation had its place under the surface, even when the transfer window shut. Somehow, the team that looks so strong in European fixtures was at the bottom of its own domestic league.
Suddenly it was February and Klopp told his side they must wake up. Against a string of weaker opponents - at Freiburg, home for Mainz, at Stuttgart - Dortmund beat all three. It had pulled itself out of the danger zone. Those were fine, expected results for a team in the final 16 of the Champions League. But now, their surging home win over rival Schalke has replanted Dortmund in the middle of the league and out of harm’s way. So, no, after Reus decided to re-sign with his hometown club, it they were really never in trouble.
Before the four-game win streak, Dortmund had been outscored overall by nine. In any other top league in Europe, that would be good enough for safety from relegation - something like 12th or 13th in all other leagues. Not in Germany, though. (This year’s Bundesliga is easily the closest league top-to-bottom in Europe.) Goals like Aubameyang’s - deflected off a Schalke defender, ending up in a perfect spot - were the type to beat Dortmund in the first 18 games of the year.
Shinji Kagawa has found his game again. Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored Saturday for the first time since May 22, 2014 (seriously). Reus and Au-Batman-eyang have nine combined goals in the four-game domestic win streak. Reus pocketed an away goal in the Champions League at Juventus. They’re eight points out of a top-four spot. The Yellow Wall has located its famous voice. No more apologies are necessary. Dortmund’s fortunes are changing.
