Football is back and it's like it never went away. The Bundesliga returned to our screens this afternoon, ending what has been seemingly been an eternity without top level football.
While the empty stands were a strange sight, there was still some fantastic football on display. Not least from Erling Haaland who picked up right from where he left off in his side's 4-0 win over Schalke.
The Norwegian striker scored the first goal of the game, embracing social distancing in the celebrations.
After the final whistle, the Dortmund players continued their tradition of saluting the famous 'yellow wall' despite the fact there were no supporters present.
When asked about this in a post-match interview with beIN Sports, Haaland would go on to conduct one of the strangest interviews of the season.
This club man! 😭💛@ErlingHaaland pays tribute to the Dortmund fans who couldn't be at the game today.
What an incredible bond.#beINBundesliga pic.twitter.com/5Lc2Pv7mWc— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) May 16, 2020
Interviewer: "After the final whistle, you and [your] whole team-mates, you were going to the south stand, the famous Yellow Wall which was empty today, of course... why did you do that?"
Haaland: "Yeah why not?"
Interviewer: "Is that the kind of message you want to send out?"
Haaland: "Yes."
Interviewer: "Would you tell us the message?"
Haaland: "To my fans."
Interviewer: "They're everything for you, and for Borussia Dortmund..."
Haaland: "It is."
Having been born in England and spent most of his life in famously bilingual Norway, he is fluent in English, which makes things all the most confusing.
Perhaps he just decided to pile onto what was already a very odd occasion.
This win moved Dortmund to within one point of league leaders Bayern Munich, who take on Union Berlin tomorrow. With those two sides also set to face off in a few weeks, we could have an exciting title race to look forward to in the Bundesliga.
