Borussia Dortmund put in a scintillating attacking display to defeat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday evening. - © © gettyimages / Christof Koepsel
Borussia Dortmund put in a scintillating attacking display to defeat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday evening. - © © gettyimages / Christof Koepsel

Free-flowing Dortmund overcome Gladbach

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Borussia Dortmund’s attacking prowess was too much for Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday as Thomas Tuchel’s men secured a 3-1 away victory.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-3 Borussia Dortmund

Goals: 0-1 Reus (41’), 0-2 Mkhitaryan (50’), 1-2 Raffael (58’), 1-3 Gündogan (75’)

The match lived up to its billing as a gripping spectacle right from the off, with both teams looking to attack at every opportunity. The encounter ebbed and flowed as the sides took turns rampaging forward at pace, and both crossbars were rattled before Marco Reus put the visitors in front with a crisp finish from Ilkay Gündogan’s delightful through-ball.

Proceedings continued in the same vein in the second half, but once again it was the visitors who found the net. A flowing team move ended with Reus feeding Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who curled a first-time effort low past Yann Sommer. Gladbach pulled a goal back shortly afterwards, however, when Raffael drilled in at the back post. Yet any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the closing stages when Gündogan volleyed in from Mkhitaryan’s cross to seal a deserved three points for Thomas Tuchel’s men.

Man of the match

With a goal and an assist for Dortmund’s first two strikes, Reus was undoubtedly the key figure for Dortmund, paving the way for a vital victory.

Talking point

The winter break appears to have done Dortmund the world of good. Gone was the weariness that led them to lose 2-1 to 1. FC Köln on Matchday 17; here, they were lively, energetic and full of menace once again.

Match stats

    Havard Nordtveit captained Gladbach in the Bundesliga for the first time ever.Reus has now scored four times in six outings against his former club.Gladbach attacker Raffael has had a direct hand in 17 goals in 13 Bundesliga games under head coach Andre Schubert.

Line-ups

Gladbach: Sommer – Korb (Drmic 90+2’), Christensen, Elvedi (Hinteregger 80’), Wendt – Traore, Nordtveit (c), Dahoud (Hofmann 80’), Johnson – Stindl, Raffael

Dortmund: Bürki – Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels (c), Park – Gündogan, Weigl, Castro (Ginter 70’) – Reus (Durm 70’), Aubameyang (Ramos 76’), Mkhitaryan