It was a perfect return to the Bundesliga season as Borussia Dortmund coasted to a thumping 4-0 win over arch rival FC Schalke in Saturday's Revierderby at the Signal Iduna Park.
Raphael Guerreiro's brace, Erling Haaland and Thorgan Hazard's strikes earned BVB all three points and ensured its unbeaten run at home, this season, remained intact.
The result also saw BVB pick up its 800th win in Bundesliga and takes its tally to 54 points, one shy of table-topper Bayern Munich. Bayern will face Union Berlin on Sunday.
Here are the remaining fixtures for this week -
- Sunday, May 17 : FC Koln v Mainz, Union Berlin v Bayern Munich.
- Monday, May 18 : Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen.
For your daily dose of football, check us out here . That will be all from us for today. Thanks for tuning in!
---------
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
90' That's it, the ref blows the whistle and its all smiles for the home side. Borussia Dortmund brings up its 800th Bundesliga win as it storms to a 4-0 hammering of FC Schalke.
87' Three changes here - Gotze and Schmelzer come on for Dahoud and Gurreiro respectively, while Becker replaces Becky.
85' That's a stunning move from Matondo. He weaves and dodges his way past three defenders, before he is dispossessed courtesy of a neat sliding tackle from Hummels. Matondo goes on to hack Hakimi down and picks up a yellow card.
82' Absolutely brilliant play from BVB. Burki plays it long and Hakimi receives it with admirable control. He streaks down and crosses it for an onrushing Haaland, but it whizzes just past him.
80' Dortmund happy to hold on to the ball and play it from the back now.
79' Hazard seems to have pulled his calf and the people's favourite Jadon Sancho comes on. Sancho's arrival spells more trouble for Schalke here!
78' The stadium announcer confirms that Reyna has indeed injured himself during pre-match warm up.
77' Two quick changes for Schalke - Serdar and Caliguiri have been replaced by Schopf and Miranda respectively.
Did you notice how Delaney was handed a face mask as soon as he went toward the bench after being substituted? The clubs have to follow strict health protocols, and of course, the world is keenly watching.
“The interest in Bundesliga this weekend will be extraordinary because everyone is watching and observing and seeing if this will work and how it will work. It will have an impact on the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A. So, it is important for the whole football business sector,” opines Carsten Cramer, BVB's managing director.
74' Oooh, that was close! A fine corner is curled into the box and Sane leaps past his man, but his header floats just above the crossbar. Best chance of the second half for Schalke thus far.
Borussia Monchengladbach has come up with a unique idea to populate the stands with cardboard printouts of its fans. Should Dortmund follow suit?
“Our spectators are so spectacular that you can’t copy and paste them by a 3D printer or something like that. We cannot substitute our supports with imitations. We decided to let it be as authentic and pure as it could be,” says the club's managing director Carsten Cramer.
68' First change for the home side - Delaney is replaced by Leonardo Balerdi.
66' One can only think of how vocal Dortmund's full-throated Yellow Wall would have been in such a situation! It's a 4-0 lead over arch-rival FC Schalke in the famed Revierderby we're talking about afterall!
64' Schubert's nightmare continues. He's left rooted to his spot as Guerreiro slots another one past him. Tough game for the 21-year-old German 'keeper.
63' FOUR-ZERO TO BVB! What a stunning goal it is - one of the best you will see in a long time! Guerreiro exchanges a brilliant give and go with Haaland and finishes it with a sublime outside-of-the-foot effort to bring up his second goal of the evening.
60' It's all Dortmund at the hour-mark. The home side has dominated this Revierderby with a majority share of possession and has had 10 shots as compared to Schalke's three.
56' Schalke looking a lot more determined this second half. Burgstaller wins the ball at the edge of the box and twists and turns to get a shot on target. It takes a big deflection, but doesn't trouble Burki.
55' Schalke defence has been split open yet again and Haaland streaks into the box, but is squeezed for space and his attempted cross is cleared away.
54' We have a booking here - Delaney is shown a yellow for striking Serdar with his elbow in a 50-50 challenge.
50' Haaland seems to be in pain, but will be able to carry on. Phew!
49' Schalke players are caught by surprise are Haaland wins the ball and zips down the middle. He finds Brandt on the left before clattering into Sane, who makes a cynical challenge. The ref waves play on and Brandt sets up Hazard beautifully and the Belgian busts the net with a ferocious strike.
48' HAZAAAAAAAAAAARD! Hazard rifles home Brandt's incisive pass to make it 3-0 to Borussia Dortmund!
47' Schalke's Serdar gets off the first shot of the second half, but it is a routine save for Burki. The BVB custodian is making his 200th appearance for the Black and Yellows .
46' The second half is underway! Schalke has made two changes, Burgstaller comes on for Todibo while Raman is replaced by Matondo.
It's been a terrific first half of football that has seen Borussia Dortmund come out all guns blazing to storm to a 2-0 lead. Schalke has had a couple of half chances, but has been pushed to the backfoot for a large majority of the game owing to Dortmund's sheer pace and lethal attack line. BVB's defence has looked a little scrappy, but is yet to face a real test.
Quite the celebration, eh?
HALF-TIME - Borussia Dortmund has a 2-0 lead at the end of the opening half courtesy of strikes from Erling Haaland and Raphael Guerreiro.
45' Schubert's horrible clearance gifts Borussia Dortmund the second goal. He's put under pressure and makes a mess of it as his hoof and Dahoud latches on to it. He finds Brandt, who plays a neat pass to Guerreiro and the Portuguese does ever so well to squeeze it in to the net.
45' Make that 2-0 to Dortmund! Dortmund makes the most of a defensive error. Guerreiro is released down the right and he beats Schubert with ease to score his sixth goal of the seaosn.
43' Harit sets himself up to convert Kenny's cross but has his heels clipped by Hummels. The referee was hardly five yards away, but surprisingly, saw no foul! Harit is clearly furious.
41' The corner is floated in and a defensive header lands kindly for Dahoud at the edge of the box. He swings his leg at it and makes a sweet connection, but Sane throws himself and heads the ball to safety.
40' Hakimi receives a lovely long ball and tries to dance his way past a defender let one rip but the defender stays the course and deflects it for a corner.
35' Hakimi tears down the right and cuts it back into the box for Guerreiro, but the latter's shot is nowhere close to the target. Hakimi has been absolutely sensational so far!
31' Haaland's dream debut season at Dortmund continues as he brings up his 13th goal in 12 matches, his 10th Bundesliga goal, since arriving in January! And this is Hazard's 11th assist of the season.
29' HAALAND SCORESSSSSSSSSSS! It's a classic BVB goal. Brandt plays a peach of a backheel pass to release Hazard and Haaland coolly slots home the Belgian's cross to hand Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 lead over FC Schalke!
26' Caligiuri finds himself in a great position to have a shy at goal but Akanji does extremely well to block him out and Burki does the rest. Good chance here for Schalke.
24' Chance for Haaland.....but only finds the side netting. Brandt floats in a cross and the ball makes its way to Haaland at the far post, but his left-footed strike zooms into the side-netting.
23' Hakimi takes the shot but can't find his way past the wall as Nastasic clears it away. Corner for Dortmund.
22' Hazard is brought down at the edge of the D and the home side has a glorious chance here!
18' Dortmund is going on to stomp its authority now. The home side has seen more of the ball and has found quite a few creaks in the Schalke defence.
15' This Hakimi-Haaland combination looks super promising!
13' What a vital clearance from McKennie! Dortmund nearly sneaks ahead as Hakimi makes a fine run down the right and plays a teasing low cross, but Todibo and McKennie combine to thwart the danger. The home side piling on the pressure now.
11' A long free-kick is floated into the box toward Haaland at the far post, but the ball takes a touch off a Schalke player's hand. However, no penalty given.
10' Oh, how we have missed this! Sleek passing, wily dribbling and long range strikes - top-flight European football is back, ladies and gents!
7' Caligiuri fires the freekick straight in to the wall and the switch of play sees Hazard let one rip at the other end, but it sails into the empty stands
6' Harit is brought down at the edge of the box by Dahoud and Schalke has a fine chance here
5' Action at the other end as Haaland races goal-bound after exchanging passes with Hakimi, but the 'keeper races off the line to parry it away.
4' Raman bursts into the Dortmund box, but Hakimi makes a fine challenge to fend him off. Schalke looking sharp here
3' A few astray passes see Dortmund lose the ball deep in its half, but the defence scampers to clear the danger. A rusty start to the game....
1' KICK-OFF! Matchday 26 of the Bundesliga kicks off with the first-ever closed doors Revierderby.
7:00pm: We are ready for kick-off!
6:58pm: Big news coming in from the centre - Giovanni Reyna will not be making his first start and Thorgan Hazard will replace him. Looks like the youngster might have pulled a muscle during warm up.
6:55pm: We have the first visuals of the stadium and do you see how long the benches are? The returning clubs have to follow a host of protocols to ensure safety of everyone involved.
“We will have the longest bench ever in our stadium -- it is almost 50m long. The distance between two players is close to 2.50m and all players must wear masks. We can have four ball boys and they must wear gloves. On the stands, we have eight representatives of our club and four of the away team. We share a stand usually visited by 8,000 people with 12 guys,” says Dortmund's managing director Carsten Cramer.
6:50pm: Oh and another really interesting aspect is that both teams will have a chance to use five substitutions today! More on that here -
6:45pm: The 96th edition of the Revierderby would have usually had over 80,00 spectators in attendance but owing to coronavirus it will be played behind closed doors. As per the strict protocols in place, no more than 300 people, including players and support staff, will be allowed in the stadium.
READ -
Dortmund's managing director, Carsten Cramer, says the financial implications of closed door games and the coronavirus-induced break have been massive.
6:40pm: Here are some interesting facts heading into the game -
- Haaland and Sancho have scored more Bundesliga goals in 2020 (nine and five respectively) than the entire Schalke team (four).
- BVB comes into the tie on the back of a four-game win streak and is gunning for its 800th Bundesliga win.
- Seven Bundesliga matches is Schalke’s longest winless run under David Wagner (D4, L3). It’s also the longest current run of any Bundesliga club.
- However, the Royal Blues have lost only one of their last eight derby meetings with Dortmund (W2, D5).
- Amine Harit has had a hand in more Bundesliga goals than any other Schalke player this season (six goals, four assists), but hasn’t scored in 13 or assisted in 10.
6:30pm: Who do you think will come on top in today's Revierderby? Have your say here!
6:20pm: Despite the magnitude and tradition of the Revierderby, Dortmund's mayor has pleaded with supporters to resist the urge to journey to the stadium.
READ:
6:15pm: So we have our line ups for this Revierderby and Dortmund boss Lucian Favre has decided to leave Jadon Sancho on the bench, while Giovanni Reyna makes his first official start. Remeber, Dortmund is also without Reus, Emre Can and Axel Witsel -
6:10pm: LINE UPS!
Borussia Dortmund: Burki, Piszczek (c), Hummels, Akanji, Hakimi, Guerreiro, Brandt, Delaney, Dahoud, Reyna, Haaland.
Subs: Hitz, Sancho, Hazard, Schmelzer, Morey, Balerdi, Furich, Gotze, Raschl.
FC Schalke: Schubert, Nastasic, Oczipka (c), Caligiuri, McKennie, Serdar, Harit, Kenny, Todibo, Sane, Raman.
Subs: Nubel, Miranda, Gregoritsch, Matondo, Kutucu, Burgstaller, Schopf, Becker, Mercan.
6:05pm: The last time Dortmund hosted Schalke, it was a goal-fest with the visiting Die Knappen taking home all three points. Here's how that game went down:
6pm: With 17 different goalscorers, Dortmund has been busy in front of goal this season. And here's one of its start strikers has been 19-year-old sensation Erling Haaland. He has scored 12 goals in 11 games since arriving in Dortmund in January and his meteoric rise has become one of the most sought-after forwards in Europe. Here's what he has to say on that, ahead of his first Revierderby -
ALSO READ | Dortmund star Haaland ignoring Real Madrid talk
5:50pm: Here's what the Singal Iduna Park looks like sans the fans. Quite a strange sight, considering how the stadium has almost never been empty on a match day owing to its spectacularly passionate fan base. I've been in that stadium, and trust me when I say the BVB fans really know how to raise the roof!
5:40pm: We have all gone gaga over Jadon Sancho's mesmerising skills. But just how good is this 20-year-old wizard? Fun fact - Only two players in Europe's top-five leagues have a better record than Sancho when it comes to goals and assists this season!
Ciro Immobile has produced 34 (27 goals and seven assists), with Lionel Messi on 31 (19 goals and 12 assists), just ahead of Sancho's 29. Timo Werner, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne, Ronaldo and Mbappe have all enjoyed fine campaigns but they rank behind Sancho!
READ:
5:30pm: I, like most of you, am absolutely thrilled to have live football again. And what a better way than to start off with a derby, eh?
WATCH | Bundesliga returns: Can Dortmund end its title drought?
Here's a fun tale - in 1969, police with dogs tried as hard as they could to keep fans from overspilling onto the field. One German Shepard dog named Blitz became a little over-zealous and ended up biting Schalke player Friedel Rausch. Rausch was given a tetanus shot and was able to finish the game but it was later found out that the dog had been brought in by a Dortmund fan who had pretended to be a police officer to gain access to the game!
In the reverse fixture, Schalke president Gunter Siebert got found an interesting way to exact revenge as he loaned out a lion and patrolled the pitch with the lion on a lead! Fortunately the lion did not bite anybody that day and neither did any dog.
5:20pm: With strict health protocols in place, matches will have to be played behind closed doors for the foreseeable future. Dortmund's managing director Carsten Cramer feels it will take time for everyone to get accustomed to this "unimaginable" new normal. READ -
MATCH PREVIEW
Second-placed Dortmund will eye a fifth win on the trot this evening and will hope it can reduce its four-point deficit to Bayern Munich. Jadon Sancho will be the star to look out for Dortmund fans, with the youngster already having scored 14 goals and delivering 15 assists so far. With captain Marco Reus ruled out due to injury, Erling Haaland will another key player for the Black and Yellows .
RELATED|
Schalke, led by David Wagner, will come into the tie looking for its first Bundesliga win since January 17. The two sides had played out a goalless draw when they clashed in October last year.
Probable line-ups
Borussia Dortmund: Burki, Piszczek (c), Hummels, Akanji, Hakimi, Brandt, Delaney, Guerreiro, Sancho, Haaland, Hazard
FC Schalke: Schubert, Kenny, Todibo, Nastasic, Oczipka (c), Caligiuri, McKennie, Serdar, Harit, Burgstaller, Raman
Comments
SHARE