Marco Reus stars as Borussia Dortmund hit Gladbach for six

Marco Reus scored two goals and assisted another three as Borussia Dortmund prepared for the second leg of their Rangers tie with a 6-0 thumping of Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Borussia Dortmund issued the perfect response to Thursday’s embarrassing defeat as they hit six goals past a hapless Borussia Mönchengladbach side. Marco Reus was the star of the show, as he scored two and registered a hat-trick of assists to lead his side to victory.

Donyell Malen, Youssoufa Moukoko, Marius Wolf and Emre Can were also on target for the Black and Yellows, as they kept pace with league leaders Bayern Munich.

Marco Rose changed his formation to a back three, with Emre Can joining Mats Hummels and Dan-Axel Zagadou at centre-back. Thorgan Hazard started at right wing-back on his return to the starting XI, while Gio Reyna made his first start for Borussia Dortmund since August.

The formation change worked to a great effect in the first half, as Borussia Dortmund hit the ground running and dominated proceedings right from the off. Gio Reyna forced a good from Yann Sommer early on, before Gregor Kobel kept out Manu Koné’s effort from close range.

Borussia Dortmund got their goal midway through the first half, with Marco Reus firing home on the rebound after Donyell Malen’s initial shot was saved. Reus then turned provider for Malen, with the Netherlands international making no mistake after being played through on goal.

It wasn’t all good news in the first half for Borussia Dortmund, however, as Gio Reyna and Dan-Axel Zagadou were both forced to come off due to injuries. Reyna left the pitch in tears, just 27 minutes into his first start since August.

Borussia Dortmund enjoyed a goal glut in the second half, with Marco Reus setting up substitutes Marius Wolf and Youssoufa Moukoko to put the game beyond any doubt. Wolf found the back of the net with a stunning first time effort, before Moukoko showed great movement and slotted Reus’ low cross into the back of the net.

Reus then doubled his goal tally for the evening by coolly finishing past Sommer after being played through on goal by a gorgeous pass from Mats Hummels.

Emre Can then added a sixth in stoppage time from the penalty spot after Marius Wolf was brought down inside the box.

It was a near perfect performance from Borussia Dortmund, who were well on top for the majority of the game. And the result will no doubt give them the belief that they can turn things around in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League tie against Rangers on Thursday.