The win at Arminia Bielefeld was the right response to Amsterdam for Dortmund and an encouragement for the upcoming tasks with a further depleted squad. At least keeper Gregor Kobel gave the all-clear
His “date with the post” ended well, Gregor Kobel confirmed on Sunday: “We’re both fine, it’s not that bad. Shouldn’t take too long to recover.” Licensed match director Sebastian Kehl was also optimistic on Sunday in an interview with kicker that the Swiss had largely escaped with the scare: “He has a thigh contusion.” Whether Kobel will be able to play in the cup against Ingolstadt is still open: “We have to see if it’s enough for Tuesday. But Marwin Hitz was right on the spot on Saturday, with him and Roman Bürki we have reliable substitutes.”
There is hope in the case of three absentees from the weekend: “With Mo Dahoud, Thomas Meunier and Youssoufa Moukoko, we have to wait for Monday, treat them and introduce them to the squad,” said Kehl ahead of the clash with the second-division bottom side on Tuesday (8pm, LIVE! on kicker). On the other hand, it is clear that BVB’s top striker will not be available: “In the case of Erling Haaland, it will take several weeks before he can play again. We hope that he will be back as soon as possible. But he came off an injury and is now injured again. We have to proceed cautiously. “
Four games in twelve days
The theme of caution will accompany those responsible around coach Marco Rose in the next two weeks, four games in twelve days with a strained staffing level to cope with. “The coming weeks will be challenging, it starts on Tuesday with the game against Ingolstadt, we have to progress one round there,” demands Kehl: “The personnel situation will only change bit by bit, we are all aware of that. The situation is not easy, but it will not be an excuse for Tuesday and our home game against Cologne. We accept the situation!”
“We knew we would be under scrutiny after the defeat in the Champions League. “
SEBASTIAN KEHL
The serious and largely confident performance in Bielefeld was already the right response to the sobering 0:4 in Amsterdam during the week. “The win did us a lot of good,” said Kehl: “We knew that we would be under scrutiny after the defeat in the Champions League. A positive reaction was just as obligatory as a win. The team did that “well in Bielefeld”, especially since “although there were some clear personnel problems before the game”, the 41-year-old thinks: “We did our job in a not entirely uncomplicated situation and are still ahead.
Bellingham: Have regained honour and respect
Jude Bellingham’s first question in conversation with the journalists after the game also revolved around the balance of power at the top. The 18-year-old wanted to know how Bayern had played. Did he have any hope of being able to pose a threat to the record champions right to the end of the season? “Of course. I would be an idiot if I didn’t try to win everything. They won again today, we have to try to match them there and focus on ourselves in the process.”
The youngster felt BVB did that well in light of Saturday’s tough week: “After a defeat like that, it can go two ways: You can give up and lose a few games or you can fight and win back some of the honour and respect. That’s what we did.” He said the win was “very important”: “There are a lot of games coming up in a row, you want to have momentum. Now we have to move on, today means nothing if we lose the next two games. “
On the Alm, the youngster once again played his part in getting things moving in the right direction, was involved in the creation of the penalty and, waving like a skier, ensured the preliminary decision with a solo in the opponent’s penalty area and a lob over Stefan Ortega Moreno. Had he ever scored such a spectacular goal after a solo effort? Bellingham laughing: “Not since I was 11 years old. “
