Dortmund’s momentum sky high as they chase glory at home and abroad

To say Borussia Dortmund’s morale is high right now would be an understatement.

Tonight they face Monaco at Stade Louis II knowing that they have already qualified for the group stage of the Champions League. On the domestic front, meanwhile, things could scarcely be going better.

Hundreds of Dortmund fans welcomedtheteamhomeafter Saturday’s Ruhr derby victory over Schalke, celebrating wildly as if the team had already won the Bundesliga title.

They waited on Saturday night for the bus to arrive from Gelsenkirchen, then greeted it with fireworks and flares, jumping up and down, singing songs and waving flags.

The 2-1 win at Schalke was Dortmund’s first Ruhr derby success in three years, their first after five meetings between the sides, and it widened the gap over their biggest rival to 22 points after 14 matches.

More importantly, it kept the team nine points ahead of defending champions Bayern Munich, who had eased to a 3-0 home win over promoted Nuremberg at the same time.

No one at the club dares acknowledge it, but Dortmund – the only remaining unbeaten team in the league – have emerged as a genuine title candidate, the only realistic hope of ending Bayern’s six-year-stranglehold on the league.

Dortmund are displaying a resilience and strength of character that hadn’t been seen since Jurgen Klopp led the club to back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.

“The mentality is right. We ended up losing many 50-50 games last season,” the team’s goalkeeper Roman Buerki said. “We’re trying everything to stay up there and to start the second half of the season with a good feeling.”

Tonight, striker Paco Alacer, pictured, will be confident of adding to his goal tally at Stade Louis II, considering Monaco’s defensive record.

Monaco have conceded 36 goals in 21 games in all competitions, while the Spain forward is the equal highest scorer in the Bundesliga with ten goals, and he netted in the 3-0 home win against Monaco back in October.