Borussia Dortmund goes into the Bundesliga summit against FC Bayern with a powerful tailwind. Two weeks before the possibly pre-decisive title duel of the Bundesliga top teams following the international break, BVB took the lead in the table at least for one day thanks to a 6-1 (4-1) victory against 1 FC Cologne.
In front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out stadium, the scorers Raphael Guerreiro (15th minute), Sébastien Haller (17th/69th), Marco Reus (32nd/70th) and Donyell Malen (36th) dispelled Dortmund's frustration over the Champions League exit against Chelsea (0:2) and the damper in the Revierderby against Schalke (2:2) on Saturday. After ten league games without defeat with 28 out of a possible 30 points, coach Edin Terzic's team seems to be ready for the game on 1 April in Munich.
On the other hand, the negative trend of Cologne continues despite the goal of Davie Selke (42nd). The meagre record of only one point from the past five games fuels the fear of an imminent fall into the relegation zone.
Committed start with speed and wit
Despite the absences of Gregor Kobel, Salih Özcan, Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens as well as the suspension of Emre Can, BVB tried from the beginning to control the game. The committed start with a lot of speed and wit paid off early on. The first goal chance gave the hosts the lead when Malen served his team-mate Guerreiro exemplarily. The Portuguese, who had already scored in the derby against Schalke in the 2-2 draw on the previous matchday, made it 1-0 with a shot from close range into the long corner.
Just two minutes later, BVB had reason to celebrate again. The fact that Haller, who was suffering from cancer last summer, ended his turf slump, which had been going on since the beginning of February, was particularly loudly cheered in the stands. The striker refined the remarkable preparatory work of Reus and Guerreiro and executed ice-cold from 14 meters.
Although FC was also close to a goal when BVB keeper Alexander Meyer directed a shot from Sargis Adamyan (21.) to the post, but mostly only ran behind. In Dortmund's offensive vortex, the overview was lost more and more. Further goals from Reus and Malen rounded off Borussia's famous first half. The only blemish was the goal by Selke, in which the BVB defence was punished for its recklessness. It was Cologne's first goal after four goalless games.
In view of the clear lead, Dortmund took it more leisurely after kick-off. With a lot of possession, they kept the Cologne away from their own goal, but initially earned hardly any chances. A free-kick from Mahmoud Dahoud to the crossbar, which Haller pushed over the line in the aftermath and thus scored two goals in a game in a BVB jersey for the first time, removed the last doubts about the well-deserved success. Reus rounded off Borussia's strong performance with his second goal. The captain scored his 160th competitive goal for BVB, surpassing Michael Zorc and is now the club's sole record scorer in professional football.