Borussia Dortmund: 2019/20 season so far

bundesliga.com looks at how BVB have propelled themselves into title contention.

Who they signed: The summer was a busy one at the Signal Iduna Park as last season's runners-up – just two points behind Bayern – sought to close the narrow margin between themselves and the champions. Mats Hummels' return was a step in that direction, while Nico Schulz, Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt all gave Lucien Favre increased options. Making Paco Alcacer's loan move from Barcelona permanent looked good business; the January signing of Erling Haaland – which pushed the Spain international out the door – was even better business. Another winter addition, Emre Can, brought Bundesliga nous and the quality that had seen the Germany international previously feature for Liverpool and Juventus.

What they expected: After pushing Bayern right up to the final day of the 2018/19 season, there was little doubt that Dortmund wanted to take that extra step. Their summer recruitment screamed, 'We're ambitious', and they had given Favre the means to be that. An impressive pre-season, including a win over UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool, raised expectations, especially as they scored 30 goals in just five pre-season friendlies. The 2-0 Supercup win against Bayern was even more promising, but Favre was not entirely happy.

Watch: Highlights of the season-opening Supercup win over Bayern

"We've always been good going forward," said the former Hertha Berlin and Borussia Mönchengladbach coach ahead of his second season in Dortmund. "But we have to find the right balance between defence and attack."

How it played out: It could hardly have started better with eight goals scored in back-to-back wins to kick off the campaign. But the Matchday 3 shock at Union Berlin – the top-flight newcomer's first-ever Bundesliga victory – was a body blow Favre's men took some time to fully recover from.

Though Leverkusen were handily dispatched 4-0 in their next outing, it was only one of three wins in an (albeit) unbeaten run of seven matches during which they dipped to as low as eighth in the table.

The 4-0 lesson they received at Bayern in the Matchday 11 Klassiker gave ample indication of the gulf between the duo while the 3-3 draw at home to leaders RB Leipzig and the 2-1 defeat at Hoffenheim that followed – leaving the five-time Bundesliga champions fourth, seven points off top spot - meant spirits were not so cheery come the Christmas break.

Santa Claus comes from Lapland, but Dortmund's Scandinavian bearing gifts came from Norway as Haaland's arrival changed everything. The teenage striker has broken more records than a clumsy DJ in a rip-roaring start to his Bundesliga career that has had much to do with Dortmund’s bullet back into the thick of the title hunt. In the eight games since the turn of the year, BVB have won seven — slipping up only in the 4-3 loss at Leverkusen on Matchday 21 — to all but keep pace with a brilliant hard-charging Bayern. It's a streak that's all the more impressive given captain Marco Reus has missed the last five matches through injury.

Watch: A tactical analysis of Dortmund's deadly attack

A home derby with Schalke, the visit of Bayern on Matchday 28 and a potentially decisive trip to Leipzig on Matchday 33 could be the make-or-break fixtures in the run-in. But if Dortmund handle those, Bayern will have to play staggeringly well to maintain their four-point lead at the top.

Key player: There are many contenders, but there is one man who has really stood out: Jadon Sancho. The England international was very good last season; this term he has been nothing short of sensational. He is not an out-and-out goalscorer, but yet he has 14 this term – a tally surpassed by only Timo Werner and Robert Lewandowski – and he also has 15 assists – only Thomas Müller has more (16). Add them up, and the former Manchester City prodigy, who is still only 19 until the end of March, has been involved in more Bundesliga goals than any other player in the German top flight. Fact.

Teammate Axel Witsel said last season that, "He reminds me of Eden Hazard, and there's no reason he can't be as good as him one day." The Belgium international midfielder now has every reason to say, "I told you so!"

Watch: All of Sancho's goals and assists in the first half of the season

Best game: They say you're only as good as your last game. That's great for Dortmund, because their last 90 minutes in the Bundesliga has been their best so far. They travelled to Mönchengladbach on Matchday 25 looking to put space between themselves and their top-four rivals. A defeat at Borussia-Park, where Bayern had been beaten this season and only Leipzig had won, would have essentially ended their title challenge and even left them scrambling for Champions League qualification. While not at their fluid best, strikes from Hazard and Achraf Hakimi either side of Lars Stindl’s equaliser showed the grit BVB have often lacked in big games to claim a crucial result and move up to second and onto Bayern’s coattails.

Watch: Highlights of that crucial win in Gladbach

Biggest surprise: OK, he'd scored 16 times in 14 Austrian Bundesliga matches for Red Bull Salzburg in the first half of the season and hit eight in six Champions League games – starting with a hat-trick against Genk and becoming the first player ever to score six times in his first three appearances in the competition. But could Haaland make the step up to German football? You betcha.

Surely no one, not even the super-confident 19-year-old, could have expected things to go this well though. Seven goals in his first three appearances, including that 'Look out, here I come!' hat-trick on his debut in the Matchday 18 romp at Augsburg, were an immediate and abundant return on Dortmund's investment. A further two goals have followed to give the Norway international nine league strikes in just five starts. Scary!