Story so far: Borussia Dortmund

The UEFA Champions League has been a welcome respite this season for Borussia Dortmund, whose well-documented domestic travails have been all but forgotten on the European stage. Indeed, the loss of star striker Robert Lewandowski to FC Bayern München over the summer did little to hamper the BVB in the competition as they raced into the last 16 with two games to spare.

Story so far
In what was perceived be one of the trickier groups in this season's competition, Dortmund got off to a flier against Arsenal FC with an explosive performance which set the precedent for their onward march into the knockout rounds. Comfortable wins against RSC Anderlecht and home and away successes against Galatasaray AŞ were enough to secure a top-two berth before defeat to Arsenal on matchday five. Jürgen Klopp's charges held on to first place by way of a 1-1 draw against Anderlecht in the final round of fixtures.

Pivotal moment
That opening victory against Arsenal was crucial in so many ways for Dortmund, who many had written off ahead of the campaign following the departure of yet another key performer in Lewandowski. Questions as to whether Klopp's 2013 finalists still possessed the quality to compete at this level were unequivocally answered with an inspired display of pace and directness which left Arsenal reeling and Dortmund brimming with confidence.

Key player: Ciro Immobile
Lewandowski left some big shoes to fill in the striking department at Dortmund, and more often than not Klopp has employed a combination of attacking players to compensate for the Polish forward's departure. Nobody has stepped up to the plate better than Immobile, who struck four times in five group matches.

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Rising star: Mitchell Langerak
The Australian may already be 26 but in goalkeeping terms he most likely still has the best years of his career ahead of him. Brought into the side for regular No1 Roman Weidenfeller as Dortmund rediscovered their winning touch in the Bundesliga against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Langerak kept his place for the final UEFA Champions League group stage match against Anderlecht, and many in the German media are predicting a changing of the goalkeeping guard sooner rather than later.

Number: 3
Only three sides committed fewer than Dortmund's 56 fouls across the six group stage games, and with just three yellow cards – three less than Bayern, AS Roma and Paris Saint-Germain – to their name and no reds they have the best disciplinary record of any team. Interestingly, this was an area Klopp was eager to address last term – when they were among the more persistent group stage offenders – given Dortmund's perceived vulnerability from set-pieces at the time.

Quote
"Tonight is like a holiday for me. It is 'only' the Champions League."
Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp ahead of the matchday five trip to Arsenal, in light of his side's dreadful early Bundesliga form

Next challenge: Juventus
(Away: 24 February, home: 18 March)
Dortmund beat Juventus 3-1 in the 1997 UEFA Champions League final in Munich, Karl-Heinz Riedle scoring twice in the first half and substitute Lars Ricken adding a clinching third seconds after his introduction after Alessandro Del Piero had halved the Juve deficit.