By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Just in time for the season's run-in, Borussia Dortmund are hitting form at the right time.
Ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie against Paris St Germain this Wednesday, the Black and Yellows seem strong enough to successfully battle for both domestic and continental honors.
The 2012 Bundesliga champions have found a promising balance of fighting spirit, tactical intelligence, and an attacking gameplan. "Things changed for us after Emre Can and Erling Haaland delivered the missing puzzle pieces to complete the jigsaw," defender Mats Hummels commented.
"We are ready to join the race of teams going for bigger goals," Hummels added. "A few weeks ago, we didn't have this quality." A healthy mixture of fighters and artists is lifting the side to new heights, the 31-year-old underlined.
While fans have celebrated 68 goals in the Bundesliga this season following a 2-1 victory in the first leg against PSG, a previously ignored figure might tell the story of the side's development.
Recapturing second place in the Bundesliga by beating rivals Borussia Monchengladbach came with an unusually high number of yellow cards, proving Dortmund have discovered their fighting spirit.
After just 20 yellow cards in 24 season games prior to last weekend, the Westphalians notched five in the Monchengladbach match alone.
Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki said he is delighted "with our new fighting spirit." The new attitude is the team's most significant progress this season, the Swiss emphasized.
"We have proved we really wanted it," said coach Lucien Favre, who has implored his squad to fight until the final whistle.
For the first time this season, the 62-year-old spoke about the Bundesliga. "Our convincing second half was important regarding the national title," Favre underlined.
From a season that was initially pockmarked with inconsistency, Dortmund have made a successful start to "the week of truth", with decisive games ahead against PSG and local rivals Schalke 04.
Hummels has thrown down the gauntlet for the team to collect as many points as possible before facing leaders Bayern Munich in a key Bundesliga clash on April 4.
German media have praised Dortmund's return to form as Bayern's most promising challengers. The Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper headlined: "Artistic Dortmund able to deliver robustness", while the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung said optimism is back as "Dortmund can win the dirty way."
The team's attacking options are spread across several shoulders. In addition to free-scoring Haaland, 19-year-old Jadon Sancho has developed into a vital cog alongside Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard, with injured captain Marco Reus also set to return in a few weeks.
