The Norwegian striker Erling Haaland again stole the headlines in a wonderful week for his side, with Borussia Dortmund picking up wins this week both in Europe and domestically. On Wednesday, Haaland grabbed his first brace of the week, helping his side to a 3-2 first leg win away at Sevilla.
Photo: Marco Verch via Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Mo Dahoud joined his talisman on the scoresheet with a wonderful effort from 30 yards. Fast forward to the weekend and BVB were on the road again, this time against close rivals Schalke. Normally competing for European spots, Schalke’s woes over the past 18 months have been well documented, as they remain cemented on the foot of the table.
Although form can go out of the window in a derby, it was Edin Terzic’s BVB side that started brightly and maintained it throughout. English star Jadon Sancho opened the scoring, before crossing to Haaland to set up the second. The Norwegian’s acrobatic and powerful finish found the bottom corner, leaving Schalke’s defenders stunned, and is well worth a watch.
Schalke came close to grabbing one back, but Serdar’s shot was saved well by Marwin Hitz. Superb left-back Rafa Guerreiro made it three by finishing of a wonderful team move, with Haaland concluding the 4-0 thrashing by converting Jude Bellingham’s cross.
Elsewhere
After Club World Cup elation in Qatar, Bayern Munich have stuttered somewhat in the Bundesliga this week. Three second half goals helped them rescue a 3-3 draw at home to Arminia on Monday, before a sloppy performance against an in-form Eintracht Frankfurt side saw Hansi Flick’s side lose 2-1.
Amin Younes picked out the top corner to score Frankfurt’s second, as his team have now picked up maximum points in their last 5 games. Meanwhile, there were 1-0 away wins for Union Berlin and Stuttgart against Freiburg and Köln respectively, with Sasa Kalajdzic continuing his strong goal-scoring form for Stuttgart.
Mainz’s surprising 2-1 win away at Borussia Mönchengladbach means they are only a point from escaping the relegation zone. Wolfsburg are third, ahead of Frankfurt on goal difference, after beating Arminia 3-0 on Friday.
Game of the week: