Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland struck a brace to help Borussia Dortmund get back to winning ways at Signal Iduna Park, as Marco Rose’s side clinched a 3-0 win over bottom side Greuther Furth to end their two-game wait for a victory in the Bundesliga.
After a nervy start, the hosts eventually hit their stride and thought they took the lead in the 20th minute, but Thorgan Hazard’s strike was ruled out for a narrow offside after a VAR check. The hosts were awarded a penalty ten minutes later, as Haaland’s shot hit the hand of Maximillian Bauer in the box. A quick VAR check confirmed the decision.
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The Norwegian made no mistake from the spot-kick, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner. Dortmund supporters finally had another goal to cheer eight minutes from time as Haaland rose highest to head in Julian Brandt’s free-kick to grab his 13th league goal of the season. Donyell Malen added Dortumund’s third in the 88th minute to seal the win with a clever bit of play in the box. Dortmund stay in 2nd, and Greuther remain bottom, yet to pick up a single point away from home.
TALKING POINT – COMFORTABLE SCORELINE FLATTERED DORTMUND
A lot was expected of Borussia Dortmund this evening, as judging by Greuther Furth’s results, Marco Rose’s side came up against one of the poorest teams in recent Bundesliga history. Going into the game, the visitors sat at the foot of the table with just four points. The fans standing in front of the famed Yellow Wall must’ve thought three points was a formality, but they were wrong.
Dortmund’s Norwegian forward, Erling Braut Haaland, kicks the ball to score a penalty goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and SpVgg Greuther Fuerth in Dortmund on December 15, 2021.
The crowd definitely made their feelings known that the performance was not good enough. However, eventually Furth’s race was run in the closing stages of the game, as two quick Dortmund goals within the space of six minutes killed the match, and made the scoreline look more comfortable than it actually was.
There is certainly work to be done for Dortmund after the winter break if they really want to challenge Bayern Munich for the title.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – JULIAN BRANDT
The 25-year-old attacking midfielder is definitely showing why he has to be one of the first names on the Dortmund team sheet this season, grabbing two more assists to take his tally to four in the league this season.It also means that the German now has five direct goal involvements in his last four games, and he picked up where he left off against Bochum, where he netted a late equaliser to snatch a point.