Sebastien Haller scored his first Bundesliga goal for Borussia Dortmund since making his comeback from cancer, heading in his side's third goal in a 5-1 win over Freiburg on Matchday 19.

Dortmund 5-1 Freiburg
Goals: 1-0 Schlotterbeck (26'), 1-1 Höler (45'), 2-1 Adeyemi 48' (assist: Bellingham), 3-1 Haller 51' (assist: Guerreiro), 4-1 Brandt 69' (assist: Guerreiro), 5-1 Reyna 82' (assist: Guerreiro)
Sent off: Sildillia (17')

Having started the year with three consecutive victories, Dortmund began in the mood to make it four as soon as possible. Raphael Guerreiro had the first chance of the game, lashing wide following a surging run from Marius Wolf, before Julian Brandt's deflected shot whizzed just over the bar. Momentum swung even further in Dortmund's favour when Freiburg defender Kevin Sildillia was sent off on 17 minutes for a second yellow card. Jude Bellingham drilled wide and Niklas Süle hit the base of the post as BVB tried to make their numerical advantage count before Nico Schlotterbeck fired in a deserved opener on the turn. There had been very little to see from Freiburg going forward, but they still went into the break on level terms when Lucas Höler capitalised on a defensive mix-up to poke in the equaliser.

There was little Freiburg could do about the Dortmund onslaught in the second half though, as Karim Adeyemi restored the home side's lead from Bellingham's fine flick just moments after the restart. Not long after that Haller brought the crowd at the Signal Iduna Park to their feet with a trademark header from Guerreiro's cross, marking his first start on Dortmund soil following testicular cancer – on World Cancer Day, no less – with his first Bundesliga goal for the club. Further efforts from Brandt, with a superb long-range shot, and Gio Reyna, ended any lingering Freiburg hopes of a comeback as Dortmund continued their fine form in 2023 on a day to remember for Haller.

Match stats

• Schlotterbeck scored his third goal of the season, all of which have come in the last five games.
• The defender made 49 Bundesliga appearances for Freiburg between 2018 and 2022, before moving to BVB last summer.
• Sildillia had only been cautioned twice all season before this game; here he was booked twice inside two minutes.
• Dortmund have now scored seven times from a set-piece this season, all coming since Matchday 11.
• Adeyemi set a new all-time Bundesliga speed record after being clocked at 36.65 km/h (22.77 mph).
• Haller scored his first competitive goal for Dortmund, and in a fourth consecutive game against Freiburg.

Get Haller for your Fantasy team for 13.5M!

Watch: Haller: "My goal is a message of hope and courage"

Want more Bundesliga Action?

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Teams

Dortmund: Kobel – Wolf (Dahoud 78'), Süle, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro – Can, Bellingham (Malen 71') – Brandt, Reus (c) (Reyna 71'), Adeyemi (Bynoe-Gittens 61') – Haller (Moukoko 61')
Unused subs: Meyer, Hummels, Modeste, Passlack
Out: Kamara (knee), Meunier (muscular), Morey (match fitness), Özcan (suspended)
Coach: Edin Terzic

Freiburg: Flekken – Kübler (Gulde 88'), Ginter, Lienhart – Sildillia, Eggestein, Höfler, Günter (c) – Kyereh  (Eggestein 60')- Doan (Jeong 67'), Höler (Gregoritsch 67'), Grifo (Sallai 60')
Unused subs: Uphoff, Petersen, Wagner, Röhl
Out: -
Coach: Christian Streich

Watch: Terzic: "A special moment for Haller"

About the clubs

Borussia Dortmund

SIGNAL IDUNA PARK

SC Freiburg

Europa-Park Stadion