Dortmund intends to use the big opportunity to dethrone Bayern

This could finally be the edition in which Borussia Dortmund can dethrone Bayern Munich. All too often in Bayern's 10-year run to German league titles, Dortmund have failed to capitalize on opportunities to deny their rivals success, even when the Bavarians were dropping points.

However, that changed on Saturday when Dortmund beat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 to go top of the Bundesliga after Bayern lost 3-1 against Mainz. The current champion has conceded three goals within 14 minutes.

England midfielder Jude Bellingham is one of the most responsible for Dortmund's good results this season and the 19-year-old has now urged his team not to relinquish their lead until the end. Dortmund are currently one point ahead of Bayern in the title race with five rounds remaining in the season.

"To be honest, it would mean everything to me if we win the championship title. It would mean the world to me, as I would achieve tremendous success,” Bellingham admitted Monday. "I don't want to talk too much about it and put myself in a zone where I feel like I've already won, because there are five more really tough games to come, regardless of how other people see them."

Bellingham has been part of Dortmund since 2020 and has so far won only one trophy, the German Cup in 2021. He is one of the most rumored footballers to leave Dortmund in the summer. Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid have already shown interest in his transfer. So if Bellingham wins the championship title with Dortmund, then he would leave as champion the team with which he has a contract until 2025.

"I would like more than anything at the moment to win the title with this club, which has given me everything in my career. And not just me, but all the players are giving everything to make this dream come true, considering that Dortmund haven't won a title since 2012," said Bellingham.

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During his time in Germany, Bellingham has developed into an undisputed starter for England and a leader for Dortmund on the pitch. Dortmund's strategy of signing the best young talent, then selling them on for huge profits, has proved highly successful with Bellingham. His performances for Dortmund are being compared to those of Erling Haaland and Ousmane Dembele in recent years. But Dortmund's strategy has also seen the club in a constant cycle of rebuilding against a Bayern side with a stable core. The focus on young attacking players has also been blamed for Dortmund's consistent failure in the defensive department in recent years, especially in the big moments. It looked as though Dortmund might have grabbed another chance after a 4-2 defeat by Bayern earlier this month, but it all fell apart when mistakes from goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and the defensive unit allowed Stuttgart to secure a 3-3 draw despite being with only 10 players. However, this season in the Bundesliga it has become a habit for Dortmund to slip up from time to time, but Bayern are touching new lows. Since his surprise appointment last month to replace Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern coach, Thomas Tuchel has two wins, three draws and three defeats. The game that ended Nagelsmann's reign was the third defeat in 37 games this season.

Both teams have a relatively easy end to the season, with three home games. Dortmund's next game is against arch-rivals Bochum before facing Mainz, who beat Bayern. Meanwhile, Bayern will play the bottom two teams - Hertha and Schalke - but these teams will fight hard to avoid relegation. Bayern's penultimate game at home to Leipzig on May 20 could be decisive.