Second half blitz helps Borussia Dortmund breeze past Union Berlin

Borussia Dortmund survived an early scare before three goals in a dominant second-half helped them secure a 4-2 win at home to Union Berlin.

They may not be playing the most free-flowing football at the moment, but Borussia Dortmund keep getting the job done in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, the Black and Yellows came from behind to claim a 4-2 win over Union Berlin to make it four league wins in a row.

Nico Schlotterbeck, Julian Brandt and Julian Ryerson all scored in the second-half to seal the win for Borussia Dortmund. Niclas Füllkrug had earlier given BVB the lead in the first-half, before Union Berlin responded through goals from Robin Gosens and Leonardo Bonucci.

Borussia Dortmund’s persistent pressure paid off in the end, and they got the job done once again without being at their best for the entire 90 minutes.

Edin Terzic decided to ring in the changes ahead of the game, with Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Marius Wolf, and Felix Nmecha coming into the starting XI. Julian Brandt and Salih Özcan were rested, and the suspended Ramy Bensebaini also missed out.

The game got off to a fast start, with Union Berlin looking dangerous in the early stages. But it was Borussia Dortmund who took the lead, with Niclas Füllkrug scoring on the rebound after his initial effort was saved.

BVB’s joy was short-lived, though, as Füllkrug deflected Robin Gosens’ header into the back of the net for Union Berlin’s equaliser less than two minutes later.

Alex Král then thought he had given the away side the lead in the 18th minute from another set-piece. But the goal was disallowed due to a marginal offside call. Ten minutes later, it was Borussia Dortmund’s turn to have a goal ruled out as Füllkrug was adjudged to be offside after turning Marco Reus’ free-kick into the back of the net.

The drama continued in the 30th minute as Union Berlin were awarded a penalty after Mats Hummels fouled Sheraldo Becker inside the box. Leonardo Bonucci made no mistake from the penalty spot and gave his side a well-deserved lead.

Union Berlin managed to keep Borussia Dortmund at bay for the rest of the first-half. But they completely wilted under pressure after the break.

Nico Schlotterbeck equalised for the home side in the 49th minute after Frederik Rønnow failed to keep out his speculative effort from long range.

Julian Brandt then came off the bench and finished a quick-fire counter-attack to restore Borussia Dortmund’s lead. A deflected shot from Julian Ryerson added some gloss to the score-line, as BVB maintained their unbeaten start to the season in the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund can now go into the international break with momentum on their side, even if they haven’t reached the desired levels yet in terms of their performances. The hope will be that this run of results can continue in the coming weeks, and the performances will follow suit.