Hamburg 0 Dortmund 3: Bosz's men cruise back to Bundesliga summit

Borussia Dortmund eased to a 3-0 win over Hamburg at Volksparkstadion on Wednesday with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang among the scorers.

Published : Sep 21, 2017 02:21 IST

Shinji Kagawa, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic grabbed the goals as Borussia Dortmund crushed Hamburg 3-0 to move back to the top of the Bundesliga.

Peter Bosz's men have started the season impressively and continued their fine form on Wednesday, as they kept a fifth successive clean sheet, a feat they have never managed at the beginning of a Bundesliga campaign before.

Dortmund was particularly good in the first half and, after wasting a couple of fine chances, deservedly took the lead through Kagawa – the Japan international making the most of his first Bundesliga start of the season.

Dortmund sat back after the break, inviting pressure, and that tactic worked like a charm, as Aubameyang finished off a swift break just after the hour to continue his tormenting of Hamburg with what was his ninth goal in as many games against them.

The lively Pulisic then wrapped things up with 10 minutes to go, rounding off a well-worked move as Hamburg was left on the end of a comprehensive defeat in its own stadium.

It took Dortmund's attack seven minutes to create the first opening, Aubameyang and Pulisic dazzling the Hamburg defence, before the American sent a controlled effort just wide of the bottom-left corner.

Andriy Yarmolenko then got involved, cutting inside and crossing for Aubameyang to send a glancing header on to the right-hand post.

Dortmund's dominant start eventually bore fruit in the 24th minute.

Yarmolenko's free-kick found Omer Toprak, who nodded it down for Kagawa and he kept his cool before smashing past Christian Mathenia.

That goal seemed to spark Hamburg into life and it almost equalised just after the half-hour mark – Andre Hahn forcing Roman Burki into a smart save after good work from Lewis Holtby.

But the team rode its luck again twice in quick succession shortly after, as Pulisic tested Mathenia inside the area, before the goalkeeper saved Mergim Mavraj from an embarrassing own-goal by tipping his header over following another wicked Yarmolenko delivery.

Hamburg looked a little more positive early in the second half and they almost levelled in the 54th minute, but Mavraj blasted his effort into the side-netting from eight yards after Dortmund failed to clear a corner.

The home side's switch to a more attack-minded approach ultimately proved its undoing in the 63rd minute, however.

Dortmund caught Hamburg on the counter and Yarmolenko's eventual shot was scuffed into the path of Aubameyang, who tapped it in from close range.

The match was put completely beyond Hamburg in the 79th minute, as Pulisic collected Mahmoud Dahoud's cut-back, strode past a challenge and confidently swept home to round off an impressive Dortmund performance.

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