HERE WE GO :Why Niko Kovač and Borussia Dortmund may have turned a corner

Following a stop-start beginning to life as Borussia Dortmund head coach, Niko Kovač and his team enjoyed the high point of his short reign so far on Matchday 23 as they put Union Berlin to the sword. It seems the Black-Yellows may have turned a corner, as bundesliga.com explains…

When Kovač arrived, he took over a floundering Dortmund side. With just two wins in 2025 – both of which came under interim boss Mike Tullberg – and four defeats in seven to start off the calendar year, BVB’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s UEFA Champions League looked bleak.

Three Bundesliga games later, Dortmund remain seven points adrift of the top four, but the 6-0 victory over Union on Matchday 23 was a sign that things are starting to come together. It was a dominant performance, and while the opener came via a slice of fortune as Julian Ryerson’s low drive deflected off Diogo Leite before looping over Frederik Rønnow and into the back of the net, there was nothing lucky about the margin of victory.

This was a reminder of what Dortmund can do at their best. Serhou Guirassy was devastating, scoring four goals to take his season tally to 13 Bundesliga in 20 appearances, while Pascal Groß became the first German top-flight player in five years to register four assists in one game.

Watch: Borussia Dortmund 6-0 Union Berlin – highlights

That performance followed a convincing Champions League play-off round victory over Sporting Lisbon. After a commanding 3-0 win in the first leg in Lisbon, the sides played out a goalless draw at Signal Iduna Park. While Dortmund’s attack did not ignite on this occasion, their defensive display stood out.

Sporting had produced some fantastic performances this year amongst the continent’s elite, even defeating 2022/23 champions Manchester City 4-1, but they managed just a single shot on target against a resolute Borussia backline. More importantly, that was Dortmund’s third clean sheet in four games; before that, their last match without conceding was at the end of November.

Of course, it hasn’t all been rosy for Kovač. His reign kicked off with a 2-1 defeat by VfB Stuttgart, and although that setback could be written off as a difficult introduction against a fellow Champions League participant, a subsequent 2-0 loss against Bochum was a different matter entirely. This was a game Dortmund were expected to win, but they never really got going.

Watch: All of Guirassy’s Bundesliga goals and assists for Dortmund 

Between that loss and the return leg against Sporting, the Croatian spoke about his side’s mentality: “These players are players of high quality, but at the moment, the head is the key factor. It is about relaxing the mind and resetting.”

Indeed, the squad is full of quality – Guirassy and Groß are just two talents on a roster that includes Jamie Gittens, Karim Adeyemi and Maximilian Beier, who picked up a goal and an assist against Union at the weekend.

Kovač’s predecessor, Nuri Şahin, had to deal with a number of injuries throughout this term, with Niklas Süle, Adeyemi, Yan Couto and Waldemar Anton among those to miss several games. However, Felix Nmecha is currently the only absentee as Dortmund look to build momentum.

They could provide further proof that they are heading in the right direction by registering a second consecutive Bundesliga victory for the first time this season when they take on St. Pauli this weekend.

After that, Dortmund take on Lille in the Champions League last 16 either side of a home assignment against Augsburg. This has been a challenging season in more ways than one, but there is still time for them to make something out of it. In a few months, Kovač and Co. may look back at the Union triumph as the turning point.