Erling Haaland was apparently the only one who still believed in a real chance for the title for Borussia Dortmund. The frustration pictures of the goalscorer, who remained on the bench with his arms crossed and shaking his head, were a clear sign.
BVB’s 1-1 draw at 1. FC Köln was more than two lost points. With a deficit of six points to FC Bayern and seven games to go, it was probably the decisive setback in the Bundesliga title fight.
It never really got going throughout the season. And in the eyes of Haaland’s bosses, it was apparently not a real issue even after the small race to catch up from nine to four points.
“We would have liked to have won and made it exciting for as long as possible. But we were still able to realistically assess our chances. That’s why we didn’t declare the championship fight,” said Sebastian Kehl, head of the licensed players department.
Rose: “I’m disappointed with the result”
When asked whether he was disappointed with the result in view of the title fight, coach Marco Rose answered demonstratively shortened: “I’m disappointed with the result.” The talk of the master duel is “a running gag by now. If we lose a game, it’s again: screwed up. Then we win and Bayern stumble, then I get the question: Are you big again?” Overall, BVB is simply trying to “get the most out of the season.”
Meanwhile, Kehl simply called out other goals. “Becoming champion of the second half of the season is definitely worthwhile,” he said: “And increasing the gap to the rear and not making it look so brutal at the front would be good.”
That sounds moderately ambitious in the rest of the season, in which BVB “doesn’t have that many English weeks anymore” after losing three cup competitions, as Kehl noted. And in which Dortmund “will have a good training group even in the forthcoming international break. There are many German national players there,” as Kehl noted. National coach Hansi Flick had not nominated a single Dortmunder.
They talked about it, said Kehl, who will succeed Michael Zorc as sports director in the summer: “Let’s just leave it like that.”
Nevertheless, the construction of a title fight between the series champion from Munich and the long-term pursuer from Dortmund was “an up and down of the media”, as Kehl explained: “We didn’t get involved and concentrated on ourselves. That’s our last well accomplished.” After all, Dortmund scored the most points in 2022.