Ricken: Dortmund is the only team that almost got a point from Bayern, we are not afraid of any opponent

Bayern Munich started with 8 consecutive victories and is in unstoppable form. What else can Dortmund pursue in the 2025/26 season? What is the specific positioning of the club? In this regard, Dortmund sports director Lars Riken made an intriguing statement in an interview with Sky Sports.

When asked whether Dortmund is "the strongest among the rest of the teams"?

Riken responded with a smile: "'The Strongest' sounds pretty good. I prefer this term to 'the number one chaser', because that means you will always be the 'number one loser.'"

Bayern has currently won eight rounds of the league (including all official games), and its performance is indeed extraordinary.

Riken said: "When Dortmund lost 1:2 to Bayern in the away game in the seventh round, they were actually the only team that almost got points from Bayern this season. Therefore, Dortmund does not need to be afraid of any opponents."

However, Riken also emphasized that Bayern cannot be used as a reference standard for Dortmund this season.

Riken said: "We have to go our own way. In the past two seasons, we only qualified for the Champions League at the last minute as fourth or fifth. Now we must enter the Champions League steadily and naturally."

On Saturday night, Dortmund relied on Bayer's buzzer beater in the 6th minute of stoppage time to defeat Cologne 1-0 and temporarily ranked third in the Bundesliga.

Head coach Niko Kovac said with a wry smile after the game: "I just told the players that they can't do this too often. My heart is about to jump out and my beard is getting grayer."