At the end of an evening in intoxication, even the BVB children were allowed to run. Ludwig Hummels and little Eden Haller ran into the goal a few times with the ball in huge cheers, tens of thousands of fans smashed the age-old stadium hit from the Lederhosen and the Bavarians in the south stand – the warm-up for the high-voltage summit of the league on Saturday, April 1 (18.30 pm in the F.A.Z. live ticker for the Bundesliga and Sky) was electrifying. The challenger travels to Munich at eye level to the permanent champion, it's about (almost) everything: After the international break, it counts!

"We have a great game in front of our chest, but a few players from us will come back, that will be good," said captain Marco Reus after the spectacular 6:1 (4:1) gala of Borussia Dortmund against 1 FC Cologne. The showdown will follow on 1 April. "It's not decisive yet," stressed Reus, but caution is no longer required: "It will be very important – and hopefully we will be ready."

It is almost a pity that the schedule now includes international matches. Nico Schlotterbeck and Jamal Musiala, Emre Can and Joshua Kimmich will fight together against Peru and Belgium, they will make sure not to hurt themselves: Then they see themselves in Munich as bitter opponents in the fight for the championship trophy.

"When it comes to the sausage"

"There are nine Bundesliga games in which a lot is at stake," said BVB coach Edin Terzic, with a side glance at the table and the DFB Cup quarter-finals at RB Leipzig (5 April) he noted with satisfaction: "We are there when it comes to the sausage." But the brakes are not yet completely released: "Where are we supposed to take the right to claim that we are at the top at the end of the season?" asked Terzic. "But that doesn't mean we won't do everything we can."

Anyone who wanted to attribute signs of a crisis to Dortmund after the Champions League elimination and the disappointing derby at Schalke 04 (2:2) can stop immediately. The BVB dismantled the – albeit badly battered – Cologne, four out of six goals were small works of art. "That was a successful and beautiful evening, from goalkeeper to striker really good," said Terzic. "We can praise all the players."

It was particularly impressive that Borussia defied their personnel problems without any problems. Can suspended, Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko injured, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel catches a cold, Julian Brandt unable to play – so what?

Instead of complaining, BVB really got going. Sebastien Haller scored twice, Reus too. And the captain indicated that the eternal discussion about an extension of his contract will soon dissolve: "We are in talks. I would like to end my career here."

So everything is fine again at BVB, who, as Terzic proudly calculated, have scored 28 out of 30 possible Bundesliga points this year. If three more are added to Bayern, things get serious: Then the league finally gets a terrific exciting final.