The first game in February coincided with the long-awaited return of fans in the stadium, with 7,600 spectators allowed into the WWK ARENA once again to watch the home game against Union Berlin.

The midfielder has been on fire of late and scored once again in Bayern Munich’s 6-2 victory over Mainz 05. For Goretzka, it was good to see the squad wrap up another three points.

Sandro Schwarz had put his trust in the same eleven players that had started the previous two games, however, back problems felt during the warm-up forced Márton Dárdai out at short notice. Augustín Rogel stepped in to line up alongside Filip Uremović, who was able to take up his usual position in the head coach’s 3-5-2 formation, despite not completing the full training programme this week. There was a familiar face on the visitors’ team sheet, as Arne Meier returned to the capital.

The year 2023 could hardly have begun better for David Mokwa. After impressing with a series of strong performances in the U19s, he gained an initial taste of life with the first team, as he took part in the squad’s training camp in the Portuguese Algarve – but what was supposed to be an unforgettable journey into the world of professional football turned into a disappointing trip for the attacker.

Mainz 05 still on the hunt for European football | RBL unbeaten at home against the Zerofivers | A tricky game to be expected

The second phase of pre-season preparation has begun. After a one-week break, head coach Bo Svensson was able to welcome the whole squad and a number of youth team players to the WOLFGANG FRANK CAMPUS at Bruchweg on Monday morning.

Born in the Norwegian capital Oslo, Thorsby’s career quickly gathered pace as a youngster. At 15, he was picked up by Staebek’s U19 side and he made his top-team debut against Molde FK at the age of 17. Teams across the continent took notice of the talented midfielder, but it was the Netherlands that would become his next destination. Thorsby signed for Heerenveen at 18 and became a regular feature in the matchday squad. He would go on to play 130 times for the Eredivisie club, a run of games which put him into the heart of Norway’s national team. At age 21, Thorsby made his full Norway debut against North Macedonia.

VfL won the last match of the first half of the season’s fixtures 5-0 away to Hertha BSC, stretching their incredible record of consecutive leagues wins to six (with 22 goals scored during the run and just one conceded!).

Dixon thinks that Marsch will know how tough the task at hand will be to turn the ship around at Elland Road.

Following the international break at the end of March, Borussia Dortmund will play their top match away to Bayern Munich on 1 April (18:30 CET). BVB will then be at home to Union Berlin on Easter Saturday (15:30 CET), before visiting Stuttgart in the same slot a week later. The next top match involving the Black & Yellows comes on 22 April, when they host Eintracht Frankfurt at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK (18:30 CET).