Borussia Dortmund hit FC Koln for six in their bid to overtake Bayern Munich and move into the Bundesliga’s top spot with a 6-1 win at Signal Iduna Park.
Raphael Guerreiro opened the scoring inside 15 minutes before Sebastian Haller quickly made it two and Marco Reus added a third on the half-hour mark.
Donyell Malen added a fourth on 35 minutes before Reus and Haller sealed braces in the second half to add insult to injury.
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Dortmund took the lead after 15 minutes through Guerreiro.
Malen burst forward on the right-hand side and slipped the ball through Julian Chabot’s legs before he pulled back a cross back for Guerreiro in the middle of the box, and he settled the ball with a great first touch before poking a shot beyond Marvin Schwabe at the far post.
Two minutes later, Dortmund had a second through a brilliantly worked team goal, finished off smartly by Haller.
Jude Bellingham found Reus on the edge of the box for the captain to produce a delightful flick to help the ball onto Guerreiro, who put the ball on a plate for Haller to fire Dortmund two goals in ahead.
The best was yet to come for Dortmund, though, who scored a spectacular third through captain Reus.
Mahmoud Dahoud flicked the ball over the Koln defence as Malen ran on to it before his close-range effort was beaten away by Schwabe, but Malen collected the rebound with his back to goal and found Guerreiro, who laid the ball off to Reus who curled a powerful but exquisite strike into the far top corner.
Dortmund had their fourth of the half when Schwabe failed to keep out Malen’s powerful effort at the near post.
Koln managed to grab a goal back just before half-time through Davie Selke who found the roof of the net from a tight angle, but Dortmund continued their relentless form in the second half.
Dahoud’s free-kick troubled Schwabe and forced a good save from the goalkeeper who tipped the ball onto the bar, before Haller – completely unmarked – mopped up the rebound to tap home for Dortmund’s fifth.
Reus put the final nail in the coffin one minute later, when his scrappy effort found its way past a beaten Schwabe.
The three points lifted Dortmund above Bayern in the table having played a game more, with the latter in action against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
TALKING POINT – DORTMUND SEND WARNING TO BAYERN
Dortmund slipped up last week when they were held to a 2-2 draw at Schalke and missed the chance to pull level with Bayern in the Bundesliga. They weren’t going to slip up twice, though, and thumped Koln to prove they know how to play like champions.
It’s not only a great result that takes them into the top spot – at least until Sunday – but it sends a message to Bayern who they will play next after the international break, in what could be a title-defining fixture.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – RAPHAEL GUERREIRO (DORTMUND)
Two assists and the goal that kicked off the Dortmund party. Gurreiro was exceptional in the match and seemed to be involved in everything Dortmund threw at Koln. He took his goal excellently, bringing a difficult cross under control before slotting it past the Koln goalkeeper in a single motion to kick-start Dortmund’s demolition.
He was involved in the first three goals, scoring the first before setting up Haller and Reus, and the way he and his Dortmund team-mates were playing, the game was already won by that point.
A fine display.
MATCH RATINGS
DORTMUND: Meyer 7, Wolf 7, Sule 8, Schlotterbeck 7, Ryerson 7, Dahoud 7, Bellingham 8, Guerreiro 9*, Malen 9, Haller 9, Reus 9
Subs: Hummels 6, Meunier 6, Rothe 6, Reyna 6, Modeste 6
KOLN: Schwabe 4, Hector 5, Chabot 5, Hubers 5, Schmitz 5, Kainz 6, Skhiri 6, Ljubicic 6, Olesen 6, Adamyan 6, Selke 7
Subs: Schindler N/A, Martel 6, Huseinbasic 6, Tigges 6, Maina 6
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
15’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 1-0 KOLN (GUERREIRO): Malen bursts forward on the right-hand side and slips the ball through Julian Chabot’s legs before pulling back a cross back for Guerreiro in the middle of the box, and he takes a great first touch before slipping the ball beyond Marvin Schwabe in the far corner.
17’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 2-0 KOLN (HALLER): Jude Bellingham has the ball on the edge of the box and finds Reus who produces a delightful flick to help the ball onto Guerreiro, who puts the ball on a plate for Haller to fire Dortmund two goals in front!
32’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 3-0 KOLN (REUS): Dahoud flicks the ball over the Koln defence as Malen runs onto it before his close-range effort is beaten away by Schwabe, but Malen collects the rebound with his back to goal and finds Guerreiro, who lays the ball off to Reus who curls a brilliant strike into the far top corner.
36’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 4-0 KOLN (MALEN): Moments after he beat away a Malen strike, he’s unable to stop a rifling effort at the near post. The winger is so direct as he drives into the box before unleashing a shot, which Schwabe gets a hand to but can only help it into the net. 4-0 Dortmund!
42’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 4-1 KOLN (SELKE): He finds the roof of the net from a tight angle to pull one back for the visitors.
69’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 5-1 KOLN (HALLER): It’s Dahoud who troubles Schwabe forcing the goalkeeper to tip his free-kick onto the bar, before Haller mops up the rebound to tap home Dortmund’s fifth! Game over, surely!
70’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 6-1 KOLN (REUS): Dortmund have their sixth, Reus has his second, and the hosts have all three points wrapped up! They’ll go above Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga tonight.
KEY STAT
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