Marco Reus scored two and set up three against his former club as Borussia Dortmund beat Borussia Mönchengladbach to keep up the pressure on Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
Dortmund 6-0 Gladbach
Goals: 1-0 Reus (26′), 2-0 Malen 32′ (assist: Reus), 3-0 Wolf 70′ (assist: Reus), 4-0 Moukoko 74′ (assist: Reus), 5-0 Reus 81′ (assist: Hummels), 6-0 Can (pen. 90’+1)
A game billed as the Battle of the Borussias lived up to its intrepid incipit with tackles flying in from all quarters and little flow, before Gregor Kobel somehow managed to turn Kouadio Kone’s shot behind for a corner. That was Gladbach’s first opportunity, while Dortmund drew first blood with theirs. Reus put the hosts in front after Donyell Malen’s effort was parried by Yann Sommer to the in-form German forward, who controlled the ball and converted from close range. Amidst Dortmund’s celebrations, Gio Reyna shed tears of a sombre kind as he limped off the field with an injury, Julian Brandt replacing him. The new man was involved in the build-up to Dortmund’s second moments later with Reus subsequently sending Malen on his bike with a perfectly weighted assist, and the Dutch forward managed to beat Sommer with a shot which squirmed under the Swiss custodian’s attempt to keep his side in the game. Jonas Hofmann and Florian Neuhaus both had shots saved by Kobel, but Gladbach could not find a route back into the game before the break.
In an attempt to amend that, Gladbach coach Adi Hütter sent forward Marcus Thuram on for defender Marvin Friedrich at the start of the second half, giving a more attacking edge to his team. It appeared to help as Hofmann struck the woodwork on the hour mark, but the ball rebounded out to safety. The same could not be said for Marius Wolf’s first touch as he powered the ball in off the underside of the crossbar, from Reus’ second assist of the game. Assist number three from the former Gladbach forward came to lay Youssofa Moukoko’s first goal of the season on a plate. Sommer denied Brandt a fifth before Reus picked up a pass from Mats Hummels and scored his second of the game with aplomb. Emre Can then wrapped up victory from the penalty spot as Dortmund hit Gladbach for six in a one-sided battle of the Borussias.
Match stats
- Jude Bellingham made his 50th appearance in the German top flight.
- Dortmund’s 63 goals after 23 games is the second-highest haul in their history, after the 65 they had in 2019/20.
- The Westphalians have scored at least one in 54 of their last 55 Bundesliga games.
- Reus now has 11 goals in 15 games against his former club.
- The German forward has scored five in his past four Bundesliga games, having scored four in his first 18 games of the season.
- Dortmund have scored at least twice in all 12 of their Bundesliga home games this season (39 goals in total, which is two more than Bayern).
Watch: Reus: “We have to keep this up”
Line-ups
Dortmund: Kobel – Can, Hummels, Zagadou (Pongracic 42′), Guerreiro (Schulz 68′) – Dahoud, Bellingham – Reyna (Brandt 30′), Reus (c), Hazard (Wolf 67′) – Malen (Moukoko 68′)
Unused subs: Hitz, Reinier, Witsel, Tigges
Out: Akanji (calf), Haaland (groin), Meunier (muscular), Morey (knee), Schmelzer (knee)
Coach: Marco Rose
Gladbach: Sommer (c) – Ginter, Friedrich (Thuram 46ì), Elvedi – Lainer (Scally 67′), Kone (Kramer 78′), Neuhaus, Bensebaini – Hofmann, Plea – Embolo
Unused subs: Sippel, Beyer, Netz, Jantschke, Benes, Herrmann
Out: Doucoure (muscular), Stindl (knee)
Coach: Adi Hütter