Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck: 'We should voice Bundesliga title ambition'
Nico Schlotterbeck has said Borussia Dortmund must "have the ambition” to tell their passionate fans they want to win the Bundesliga title this season.
Dortmund were a distant second, 11 points behind leaders Bayern Munich after Matchday 18. But the reigning champions have lost and drawn one apiece of their last two matches, while BVB have banked a maximum haul to reduce the gap to six points.
With Bayern coming to the Signal Iduna Park on Matchday 24, whispers Dortmund are now genuine title challengers have grown louder.
Watch: Dortmund down Heidenheim
“As BVB, we have to have the ambition to say to our fans that we want to be champions,” said Schlotterbeck following the Matchday 20 3-2 victory over Heidenheim
“It’s now six points, that’s three fewer than at the winter break (after Matchday 15). That's why I can say – and the boys can too – that we want to kick on now."
Dortmund followed their convincing 3-0 win at Union Berlin on Matchday 19 with a more streaky triumph over the league’s bottom side.
Niko Kovač’s men even had to come from behind – thanks to a Serhou Guirassy brace – to take the three points and up the pressure on Bayern, who were held at Hamburg having suffered their first league defeat of the campaign against Augsburg in their previous top-flight outing.
“We had some luck to win today, but I don’t really care,” Schlotterbeck said. “That’s football, and now it’s down to six points. Maybe they’ll slowly begin to think about it.”
On paper at least, Matchday 21 offers another opportunity for Dortmund to close the gap still further. While Die Schwarzgelben go to struggling Wolfsburg, Bayern play host to in-form Hoffenheim, currently in third after winning each of their last five Bundesliga games.
“Of course we have to pick up points again,” said BVB’s Germany international centre-back. “We’ll try to be in the mix.”
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