Marco Reus, Raphael Guerreiro score as Borussia Dortmund edge past Union Berlin

Borussia Dortmund remain in the hunt for a place in the Bundesliga top four after goals from Marco Reus and Raphael Guerreiro helped them earn a 2-0 win over Union Berlin.

Edin Terzic decided to name a very attack-minded line-up as he looked to keep his team within touching distance of their top four rivals. Thorgan Hazard, Lukasz Piszczek and Emre Can all came into the starting XI, while Jadon Sancho started on the bench after nearly two months out with a muscle injury.

Borussia Dortmund nearly made a disastrous start to the game, as Emre Can gifted the ball away on the edge of the box inside the first minute. But luckily, Marcus Ingvartsen could only strike the crossbar with his effort.

The early Union Berlin chance woke Borussia Dortmund up, and they started to dominate the game after that. Marco Reus had Dortmund’s first big chance of the game, but he could not get the right connection with Thorgan Hazard’s through ball. Hazard and Gio Reyna then both forced saves from the Union Berlin goalkeeper with shots from long-range.

Borussia Dortmund were then awarded a penalty after Marco Reus was brought down inside the box by Andreas Luthe. Erling Haaland stepped up to take the spot-kick, but could not beat Luthe from 12 yards out. The Union Berlin goalkeeper also saved Haaland’s follow-up shot, but Reus was there to turn home the rebound and make it 1-0 from close range.

Haaland had another glorious chance to make it 2-0 in the 36th minute. But he could not beat Luthe with an outside-of-the-boot finish.

Borussia Dortmund continued to create chances after the break. Gio Reyna came close twice, as Jadon Sancho started to orchestrate the attacking play after coming on.

Union Berlin had a fair few chances of their own. Marwin Hitz made a stunning save to keep out Max Kruse’s free-kick. As the away side looked to get back into the game, Dortmund started to find more and more gaps on the counter-attack. Haaland had a couple of good opportunities in the final 10 minutes of the game, but he seemed to be missing his shooting boots.

Borussia Dortmund finally sealed the win in the 88th minute after Julian Brandt played Raphael Guerreiro through on goal after a devastating counter-attack. The Portuguese international made no mistake and made it 2-0 to secure the three points.

The Black and Yellows managed to get the job done against a strong Union Berlin side to stay in the top four race. Next up for them is a massive six-pointer away to Wolfsburg on Saturday, which will make or break their Champions League hopes.