Match Report: Dortmund demolish Gladbach 6-1 to go top of the table

Borussia Dortmund thrashed Borussia Monchengladbach 6-1 on Match Day 6 of the Bundesliga at the Signal Iduna Park.

In an exciting clash between local rivals, Borussia Dortmund came out victorious in a one-sided match. With 7 goals in total, it was certainly a match to remember.

The players came out onto the pitch, and the whole stadium erupted in noise, Dortmund and Gladbach fans alike chanting battle cries. It seemed everyone felt the intensity of this derby.

Dortmund XI: Burki, Piszczek, Sokratis, Toprak, Toljan, Dahoud, Weigl, Gotze, Pulisic, Aubameyang, Philipp

Peter Bosz made five changes to the side that triumphed over Hamburg mid-week, notably rotating the entire midfield. German international Jeremy Toljan replaced Zagadou on the left side of defense, and Andriy Yarmolenko got a rest, making way for Christian Pulisic to start.

Gladbach XI: Sippel, Wendt, Vestergaard, Ginter, Elvedi, Johnson, Zakaria, Kramer, Hazard, Raffael, Stindl

Dieter Hecking kept his entire backline the same as Gladbach’s last match, a 2-0 triumph over newly promoted VFB Stuttgart. The midfield only had one change, with Fabian Johnson starting instead of Patrick Herrmann. Gladbach’s attack remained the same as well.

1st Half

Right at the 11th minute, a dispossession from Weigl led to a Gladbach counter-attack. Thorgan Hazard sprinted down the right wing with the ball, only to have his shot saved by Roman Burki.

In the 25th minute, a ball to Aubameyang nearly converted the match’s first goal, but was denied by Tobias Sippel.

Just minutes later, Philipp opened up the scoring with a sensational strike. Julian Weigl put in a beautiful through ball to Aubameyang, who took it right of the goal. He looked for the cross, and Maxi Philipp volleyed it into the top left corner of the Gladbach goal. Sippel was left yelling at his defenders.

In the 38th minute, Mahmoud Dahoud intercepted a pass from the Gladbach defense. He passed it to Toljan on his left, who whipped it back in the center straight to Maxi Philipp, sending it to the goal’s top left corner.

Minutes later Lars Stindl had a golden opportunity to score against Dortmund, but his shot was neither hard enough nor challenging enough for Burki.

Later an Aubameyang header hit the post, and Gladbach counterattacked nearly immediately after. Roman Burki denied a shot from Thorgan Hazard, and Gladbach’s hopes of scoring were shot down.

In the 45th minute, Aubameyang scored a tap in, assisted by young talent Maxi Philipp.

The first half ended 3-0, the match very much in favor of Borussia Dortmund.

2nd Half

The 49th minute saw Aubameyang register another goal, making the scoreline 4-0. Surprisingly, it came off a set piece, one of Dortmund’s weaker sides in the game. Tobias Sippel was one again left to curse his defenders’ incompetence.

In the 61st minute, Gladbach attacker Raffael was substituted for midfielder Michael Cuisance.

Two minutes later, Aubameyang completed his hat trick to make it 5-0. Not only did he get his third goal, but he did it while taking on two or three Gladbach defenders and the keeper.

With the win in the back, Shinji Kagawa was brought on for Christian Pulisic in the 64th minute.

Gladbach earned a goal back however, breaking Dortmund’s run of 5 consecutive matches without conceding a Bundesliga goal. Thorgan Hazard was once again the instigator in Gladbach’s attack. A defensive error from Dortmund led to Lars Stindl receiving the ball and slotting it in the back of the net. The scoreline became 5-1.

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Dan-Axel Zagadou came on for Lukasz Piszczek with a little over 20 minutes left to go in the match. Former Dortmund player Jonas Hofmann came on for Christoph Kramer a few minutes later.

Unfortunately for Monchengladbach, Hofmann’s substitution resulted in another goal for Borussia Dortmund. A failed headed clearance fell to the feet of Julian Weigl just outside the box. A shot from Weigl sailed over the keeper, and the scoreline was 6-1.

Marc Bartra made his first appearance since injury, coming on for Sokratis in the closing minutes of the match. The Yellow Wall seemed to be ecstatic and the whole stadium screamed “Bartra!”

The rest of the match was smooth sailing, and soon enough the referee blew the whistle. Finally, the match ended 6-1. An emphatic victory for Borussia Dortmund to go three points clear at the top.