Late Marco Reus winner helps Borussia Dortmund see off the challenge of Stuttgart

An 85th minute winner from Marco Reus helped Borussia Dortmund squeak past Stuttgart and close the gap to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings.

Borussia Dortmund took full advantage of Bayern Munich’s slip-up against Augsburg as they earned a 2-1 win over Stuttgart to cut the gap at the top of the table to just one point. The game was anything but straight-forward for the Black and Yellows, but Marco Reus struck a late winner to help his team claim three vital points.

Borussia Dortmund welcomed Raphael Guerreiro back into the starting XI, while Mahmoud Dahoud and Emre Can also returned to the squad. The return of the Portuguese international allowed Marco Rose to go with a back four formation once again.

The game got off to a lively start, with both teams creating dangerous openings in the first ten minutes of the game. Marco Reus whipped his free-kick just wide of the Stuttgart goal, before Manuel Akanji made a vital last ditch challenge against Tanguy Coulibaly to prevent him from going through on goal.

Decent chances also fell to Donyell Malen and Philipp Förster, but both failed to find the target. Borussia Dortmund continued to dominate the game for the rest of the first half, but Stuttgart remained a threat on the counter attack. One such break led to a big chance for Tanguy Coulibaly, but Gregor Kobel made a stunning reflex save to keep the scores level.

Borussia Dortmund had a couple of decent chances early in the second half as well. And they took the lead in the 56th minute through Donyell Malen, who finally opened his account in the Bundesliga with a deflected effort from the edge of the box. The goal was a well deserved reward for what was a strong performance from the Netherlands international.

Borussia Dortmund’s lead was short-lived though, as Robert Massimo equalised for Stuttgart in the 63rd minute after taking advantage of some poor defending. Manuel Akanji came close to restoring Dortmund’s lead, but his effort was parried onto the crossbar by the Stuttgart goalkeeper.

But Borussia Dortmund weren’t to be denied the three points. And they got the winner at the end of a stunning counter-attack, with Marco Reus tapping the ball home on the rebound after Thorgan Hazard’s initial shot was saved.

Reus’ goal sealed a massive win for Borussia Dortmund. Getting the three points here was crucial, not only in terms of the title race, but also to get some momentum flowing. Another tough game awaits Marco Rose’s side on Wednesday, as they make the trip to Portugal to take on Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League. And they can now take a lot of confidence into that game.