BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund returned to the top of the Bundesliga on Wednesday after easing to a 3-0 victory over Hamburg with Japanese star Shinji Kagawa getting the scoring underway.
Kagawa gave Dortmund the lead from close range on 25 minutes, and both Christian Pulisic and Andriy Yarmolenko had chances to double the advantage before half-time.
With just over an hour played, Yarmolenko surged forward on the counter attack to set up a goal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gabonese striker tapped the ball in from less than a metre in front of goal, scoring his fourth and no doubt easiest goal of the season so far.
“We set off like the fire service on an emergency call at the beginning,” said Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki. “It was really important that we got the second goal.”
American international Pulisic secured victory in the 80th minute, netting Dortmund’s third from inside the penalty area.
Dortmund, who have yet to concede a goal in five games this season, moved to 13 points, a point clear of Bayern Munich after the champions’ 3-0 win at Schalke 04 on Tuesday.
Hoffenheim climbed to third, on 11, after recovering from a two-goal deficit to snatch a 3-2 stoppage-time win at Mainz 05 thanks to Mark Uth’s late winner.
Hoffenheim made a dismal start, with poor defending to blame for conceding twice in the opening 16 minutes. But Nadiem Amiri and Sandro Wagner scored before the break, and Uth sealed an unlikely comeback with a fine strike in the second minute of added time.
Hanover 96 failed to keep pace and dropped to fourth, also on 11, after their 1-1 draw at Freiburg, who earned a point thanks to substitute Nils Petersen.
After Florian Niederlechner had missed a penalty for Freiburg early in the second half, Martin Harnik gave Hanover the lead in the 66th minute. Petersen’s close range effort saved a point for the home side with seven minutes to play.
At the other end of the table, Cologne made it five losses in a row, their worst Bundesliga start in the club’s history, after their 1-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. A first half penalty from Sebastien Haller was enough to secure three points for Frankfurt.
Elsewhere, goals from Mathew Leckie and Salomon Kalou gave Hertha Berlin a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen, dealing the visitors their third loss in five games.
Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2017
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