Donyell Malen double downs Eintracht Frankfurt and takes Borussia Dortmund top of the pile
Donyell Malen continued his red-hot scoring form with a brace as Borussia Dortmund blasted past Eintracht Frankfurt to go top of the Bundesliga with five games to play.
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 1-0 Bellingham 19' (assist: Brandt), 2-0 Malen 24' (assist: Adeyemi), 3-0 Hummels 41' (assist: Guerreiro), 4-0 Malen 66' (assist: Adeyemi)
Dortmund soon took control of proceedings at the Signal Iduna Park, forging ahead on 19 minutes despite some early Frankfurt pressure on the counter. Jude Bellingham collected Julian Brandt's pass and swivelled brilliantly before sweeping past Kevin Trapp for 1-0. BVB's second was straight from the Route One playbook: Sebastien Haller headed on a long goal-kick from Gregor Kobel, and Karim Adeyemi soared high above Tuta to set up Malen for a simple finish. Adeyemi could quickly have put Dortmund out of sight, but failed to beat Trapp one-on-one. Kobel was then called into action at the other end to deny Eric Dina Ebimbe, before former BVB star Mario Götze fired inches wide for Frankfurt. The hosts went in 3-0 at the break, though, as the Bundesliga's top assist provider Raphael Guerreiro crossed for Mats Hummels to nod in his first goal in a year and a half.
The hosts looked determined to kill off any hopes of a comeback early in the second period, as Bellingham saw a shot blocked by Trapp after more Adeyemi trickery down the left. The England international almost got on the end of a teasing Guerreiro delivery a few moments later, but it was thumped out for a corner by Makoto Hasebe. Malen then drew another smart stop from Trapp at his near post, and the siege continued until midway through the half, when Adeyemi jinked his way through the middle and got his second assist of the evening for the Dutchman. The result was never in doubt at that point, meaning coach Edin Terzic was able to make a raft of changes. Dortmund therefore go top for just the second time this term, while Frankfurt, now winless in eight, lose more ground in the race for Europe.
Match stats
- Bellingham is up to five Bundesliga goals in 2022/23, one more than in his first two seasons combined (4).
- Malen has found the back of the net in five consecutive Bundesliga games. With seven goals in total this term, he has improved on his five-goal haul from 2021/22.
- Hummels netted his first goal in any competition since 23 October 2021, when he was on target in a 3-1 league win at Arminia Bielefeld. He has now scored at least once in 15 straight Bundesliga seasons.
- Dortmund have won nine Bundesliga home games in a row, a new single-season club record. They have picked up 37 points from a possible 42 at the Signal Iduna Park in 2022/23 (W12, D1, L1).
- Guerreiro boasts a league-leading 12 assists, two ahead of Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani.
- Glasner has lost all eight of his Bundesliga games against Dortmund as a coach (four with Wolfsburg, four with Frankfurt).
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Watch: Jude Bellingham - 'Title would mean the world'
Teams
Dortmund: Kobel - Ryerson, Schlotterbeck (Süle 25'), Hummels (c), Guerreiro (Wolf 70') - Bellingham (Özcan 77'), Can, Brandt (Reus 70') - Malen, Haller (Moukoko 77'), Adeyemi
Unused subs: Meyer, Reyna, Bynoe-Gittens, Modeste
Out: Duranville (thigh), Meunier (adductor), Morey (match fitness)
Coach: Edin Terzic
Frankfurt: Trapp - Tuta, Hasebe (Gebuhr 71'), Lenz - Buta, Rode (c) (Borre 52'), Sow, Knauff (Kamada 46') - Dina Ebimbe (Alidou 84'), Götze - Kolo Muani (Aaronson 70')
Unused subs: Ramaj, Toure, Chandler, Alario
Out: Jakic (calf), Lindstrom (ankle), Max (thigh), Ndicka (hip), Smolcic (knee)
Coach: Oliver Glasner
Watch: Edin Terzic on title 'dream'
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