Bundesliga
English duo Jude Bellingham and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens were both on the scoresheet before a Gio Reyna rocket earned Borussia Dortmund victory over Augsburg by the odd goal in a seven-goal thriller at Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund 4-3 Augsburg
Goals: 1-0 Bellingham 30’ (assist: Adeyemi), 1-1 Maier (40’), 2-1 Schlotterbeck 42’ (assist: Brandt), 2-2 Demirovic 45’+1 (assist: Engels), 3-2 Bynoe-Gittens (75’), 3-3 Colina (76’), 4-3 Reyna 78’ (assist: Bellingham)
Augsburg had two debutants in their starting XI and that became three when Ruben Vargas was felled by Mats Hummels and could not continue, Irvin Cardona replacing the Switzerland international after just 10 minutes. There were fears Augsburg may need to make another enforced change when Rafal Gikiewicz was hit in the face by Raphael Guerreiro’s shot, but the Pole shook it off with the same abnegation he had dedicated to Donyell Malen’s previous shot. He could do nothing to prevent Bellingham from giving the hosts the lead after half an hour, though, as he switched the ball onto his right foot to fool his marker and sent a low shot past the equally flummoxed goalkeeper from the edge of the area. Dortmund were looking comfortable, and Nico Schlotterbeck a little too so when he squandered possession near his own corner flag and allowed Augsburg to draw level with their first shot of the game, through Arne Maier. Schlotterbeck did not dwell on his mistake, though, and nodded in Julian Brandt’s free-kick to restore Dortmund’s lead within two minutes. Another Brandt free-kick nearly led to a third, with Hummels’ point-blank-range header palmed away by Gikiewicz, before Augsburg levelled again. Arne Engels pickpocketed his man in midfield before threading Ermedin Demirovic through, and his dinked finish found its way in, despite Julian Ryerson’s attempt to clear it off the line.
The first cheer of the second half was reserved for the entrance of Sebastien Haller, who made his Dortmund debut more than six months later than expected after winning his fight against testicular cancer. He came on after an hour’s play, tasked with finding a winner for the Westphalians. Yet it was a young Englishman who made an even bigger impact as Bynoe-Gittens came off the bench to put Dortmund in front for the third time. He dribbled in from the left wing, past two Augsburg defenders, before driving a low shot into the far corner. Augsburg made three substitutions and two of them combined to gazump Dortmund once again. Kelvin Yeboah’s shot hit the post and fell for David Colina, whose first touch in German football was worth its weight in gold. A third goal in as many minutes saw the latest twist with another substitute striking it rich, with Reyna’s sublime, unstoppable volley proving the pick of the bunch as Dortmund took the spoils in style.
Watch: Haller makes his emotional return after cancer
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Watch: Haller: "Welcome the best thing I could get"
Dortmund: Kobel - Ryerson, Hummels (c), Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro - Özcan, Bellingham - Adeyemi (Reyna 70'), Brandt (Süle 90'+1), Malen (Bynoe-Gittens 70') - Moukoko (Haller 62')
Unused subs: Meyer, Dahoud, Hazard, Wolf, Modeste
Out: Kamara (knee), Meunier (muscular), Morey (match fitness), Reus (ill)
Coach: Edin Terzic
Augsburg: Gikiewicz - Gumny, Gouweleeuw (c), Uduokhai, Pedersen - Engels, Maier (Baumgartlinger 76'), Rexhbecaj (Colina 76'), Vargas (Cardona 12', Jensen 65') - Beljo (Yeboah 76'), Demirovic
Unused subs: Koubek, Bauer, Caligiuri, Dorsch
Out: Berisha (suspended), Hahn (knee), Iago (Achilles tendon), Strobl (cruciate ligament)
Coach: Enrico Maaßen
Watch: Haller: "Just about enjoying the moment"