Reus and Aubameyang star as BVB reach DFB Cup last four
Borussia Dortmund reached the DFB Cup semi-finals for the third season running courtesy of a 3-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday night.
VfB Stuttgart 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Reus (5’), 1-1 Rupp (21’), 1-2 Aubameyang (31’), 1-3 Mkhitaryan (89’)
After failing to score domestically for the first time this season at Hertha Berlin on Saturday, Dortmund resumed normal service in the fifth minute at the Mercedes-Benz Arena when Marco Reus applied the finishing touch to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s low cross. Stuttgart though, fresh from winning their last four Bundesliga games, fought their way back into proceedings when Lukas Rupp’s effort from the edge of the area was deflected past a stranded Roman Bürki.
Undeterred, BVB responded in kind, Aubameyang restoring the lead on the half-hour mark with a fine individual goal. After a quiet end to the first period, Dortmund burst back into life after the interval, with Ilkay Gündogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming close to adding to the lead. Aubameyang then drew a superb stop from former BVB custodian Mitchell Langerak in the Stuttgart goal, before Daniel Didavi, Rupp and Filip Kostic all threatened an equaliser at the other end. However, the visitors held the hosts at arm’s length and sealed a deserved victory in the last minute when Aubameyang teed up Mkhitaryan to rubberstamp Dortmund’s ticket to the last four.
Man of the match
After a relative drought by his standards of one game, Aubameyang was back to what he does best here. The Bundesliga’s top-scorer put the first on a plate for Reus, added a brilliant second and then ran the length of the Stuttgart half to set up Mkhitaryan for the third.
Line-ups
Stuttgart: Langerak – Großkreutz, Sunjic, Niedermeier, Insua – Rupp, Gentner (c), Die (Harnik, 68’) – Kostic, Didavi - Kravets
Dortmund: Bürki - Schmelzer, Sokratis, Hummels (c), Piszczek - Ginter, Gündogan (Kagawa, 87’) – Durm, Mkhitaryan, Reus (Leitner, 77’) – Aubameyang