Are Dortmund Ready to Challenge Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga This Season?

Borussia Dortmund have scored no fewer than 11 goals, conceded just one and picked up nine points from a possible nine in their first three Bundesliga games of the season. 

If that doesn't seem all that shocking to you, then let me remind you that this very side had to wait until November to pick up their third victory of the league campaign last season.

It's true that under Thomas Tuchel, the Black and Yellows of the Westfalenstadion have dramatically improved and currently sit atop the German top division purely on merit. 

However, while Dortmund's more modest fans simply take a moment to enjoy a good run of form, many up and down the country and across the European game have since raised an eyebrow in simple curiosity.

Are the former German champions on the verge of once again challenging Bayern Munich for their Bundesliga crown?

The club itself wouldn't dare suggest such a scenario so soon. Tuchel, who only arrived this summer, has simply been tasked with aiming for a top-four spot in the league this season as he continues to steady the ship that almost sank altogether last season. 

As far as Dortmund are concerned—at least in front of the cameras and press conferences—Bayern are 100 miles away from them and certainly not a direct rival at this moment in time. 

Of course, that's simply a load of nonsense. Like any club in any league across the world, Dortmund will have simply began the season with the high hopes of doing as well as they possibly can. If that's a Champions League spot, fine, but if it's something a little more special, then they'll certainly try to capitalise on it. 

And at the moment, things look very encouraging indeed. 

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

To begin with, Tuchel has made all the right appointments over the course of the summer transfer window. Not only has the new Dortmund manager finally addressed the goalkeeper position—something Jurgen Klopp simply avoided over the past two seasons—but he also added notable talent in midfield through Gonzalo Castro and Julian Weigl.

Add to that Monday night's late capture of Adnan Januzaj from Manchester United on loan, and you have a manager who has carefully yet efficiently dealt with the problems in this side extremely well. And Dortmund already look all the better for it.

Of course, turning Dortmund around was never simply going to be a case of signing a few more star players for the starting XI. Not only has Tuchel brought in smart signings, but what has undoubtedly been even more impressive is the manner in which the key players within the Westfalenstadion side have returned to their former glory. 

Roman Burki between the posts may offer all the fresh impetus of a new signing, but Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Shinji Kagawa have all very recently been playing with a new lease of life and have looked like new signings in their own right. 

Any Dortmund fan—even the most modest of the tribe—will admit that even if the Bundesliga title was beyond their grasp this season, there's no denying that they've always had the talent in their squad to at least challenge Bayern.

Tuchel has since came in and made that pipe dream very much a reality. Not only do Dortmund have the talent to challenge any side in Germany, but they now have a manager who can quite clearly ensure they play to such a standard. 

Another factor to consider is of course that Pep Guardiola may have bigger fish to fry this season. Sure, Bayern could quite feasibly walk to their fourth straight league title, but their manager is almost certainly going to be keeping both eyes on his team's prospects abroad in the Champions League. 

To an extent, Wolfsburg did well to keep pressure on the Bavarian giants in the league last season while Guardiola was distracted by Europe, but in the end, Dieter Hecking didn't have the squad to maintain a challenge until the very end of May. Tuchel does, and without the Champions League to worry about, his team could quite feasibly go one step closer. 

At this point—just three games into the new Bundesliga season—such speculation is indeed that. And certainly one that Dortmund fans won't appreciate being mentioned while things are running so smoothly at the club for quite some time. 

Yet following a bright start in the Bundesliga and Europa League and a successful summer of transfer business under their new manager, Dortmund finally look like their old selves. And if that's anything to go by, then Bayern and any other hopeful Bundesliga champion should be worried.