Raphael Guerreiro and Andre Schürrle return on night of celebration for Borussia Dortmund
As remedies go, Borussia Dortmund’s 5-0 DFB Pokal win against Magdeburg provided the perfect tonic for Die Schwarzgelben, who rejoiced in the return of long-term absentees Raphael Guerreiro and Andre Schürrle.
Their blistering opening to the current campaign tempered by two draws and a defeat in all competitions recently, BVB stormed back to form in Saxony-Anhalt, with Gonzalo Castro, Alexander Isak, Andriy Yarmolenko, Marc Bartra and Shinji Kagawa all on target.
And it was the sight of versatile midfielder Guerreiro – out since breaking his foot while on international duty with Portugal in June – and Schürrle – newly returned from a thigh complaint – that will have lifted coach Peter Bosz’s spirits even further.
"We played really good football and managed not to concede," the Dutch tactician said. "I’m happy with the result as we knew it wasn’t going to be easy here. Going 1-0 up before the break really helped us."
BVB doubled their half-time lead through 18-year-old man of the match Isak's neat finish, a first Dortmund goal in what was the super Swede’s fifth club appearance.
Another bonus for the Black-Yellows came with captain Marcel Schmelzer making a first domestic appearance since damaging ankle ligaments in early September. The full-back’s recovery now appears to be well on course after he also featured in his team’s 1-1 draw away to APOEL in the UEFA Champions League a week ago.
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The one downside to an otherwise uplifting evening for the DFB Cup holders, was the sight of midfield schemer Mahmoud Dahoud leaving the action in the first half. The 21-year-old had recently been fighting the effects of a virus and was replaced by Castro in the first-half after complaining of feeling unwell.
Dortmund’s next test in the Bundesliga comes with a Matchday 10 encounter away to Hannover.