Deadly Dortmund down HSV
Borussia Dortmund maintained their ambitions of a top-three finish following a hard-fought win against Hamburger SV in a brilliant 100th meeting between the teams.
Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Hamburger SV
Goals: 1-0 Castro (13'), 2-0Kagawa (81'), 3-0 Aubameyang (90+2)
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In what emerged as a beautiful advert for the breathtaking Bundesliga, both teams demonstrated why this fixture has enjoyed more goals than any other game in Germany’s top-flight. The opening 45 minutes produced a plethora of opportunities. Indeed, were it not for some top-class goalkeeping by Dortmund’s Roman Bürki and, in particular, Rene Adler – who twice denied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in one-on-one opportunities – the half could easily have concluded 3-2. As it was, Gonzalo Castro’s well-placed free-kick did the trick for the hosts.
With just one loss in their last six Bundesliga outings and boasting a fine unbeaten home record that stretches back two years, Dortmund continued to attack after the restart as they sought to make this one safe. Raphael Guerreiro’s mis-hit allowed Adler to save once more before defender Albin Ekdal dramatically blocked Ousmane Dembele’s goalbound effort. When the visitors eventually managed to respond, Filip Kostic and Wood both spurned further chances. Dortmund would show how it should be done before the end, Aubameyang outpacing Albin Ekdal on the left before squaring for Shinji Kagawa to tap home. The Gabon striker then added the finishing touch, rounding Adler to make it 3-0.
Man of the match
Weigl cut an exhausted figure as he was substituted from the field shortly before the end of this end of this absorbing encounter. The 21-year-old put in an admirable 6.1km, touching the ball 84 times and completing 64 passes as he controlled the tempo of this match.
Talking point
Deprived of Götze, Reus, Schürrle, Schmelzer, Durm and the suspended Sokratis Papastathopoulos Dortmund displayed the strength in depth of their enviable squad as Thomas Tuchel was still able to field a fearsome first XI here.
Match stats
- The Bundesliga's top-scoring game, Dortmund versus HSV has now delivered 358 goals.BVB have scored 13 goals in the opening quarter of games this term, more than any other team.With his 13th-minute opener, Gonzalo Castro took his personal goals tally against HSV to five goals.
Line-ups
Dortmund: Bürki - Piszczek, Bartra, Ginter, Guerreiro (Sahin 78') - Weigl (Passlack 78'), Castro - Kagawa, Dembele, Mor (Pulisic 60') - Aubameyang (c)
Coach: Thomas Tuchel
HSV: Adler - Diekmeier, Mavraj, Sakai (c), Ostrzolek - Walace, Ekdal (Janjicic 83') - Kostic, Gregoritsch (Hunt 60'), Holtby - Wood (Lasogga 84')
Coach: Markus Gisdol
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