Bundesliga
Sebastien Haller scored an eight-minute hat-trick as he continued his comeback following his battle with cancer, helping Borussia Dortmund to a 6-0 friendly victory over Basel on Friday.
Borussia Dortmund 6-0 Basel
Goals: 1-0 Hazard (39'), 2-0 Malen (49'), 3-0 Bellingham (pen. 54'), 4-0 Haller (pen. 81'), 5-0 Haller (86'), 6-0 Haller (88')
Haller began on the bench for Edin Terzic's side in Marbella as they rounded off their winter training camp against the Swiss top-flight side, but captain Marco Reus was in the starting line-up after recovering from an ankle complaint that forced him to miss the World Cup last year. The match, played in four 30-minute quarters, was a close affair initially, even if BVB were the better team. Niklas Süle had the first chance of the opening half hour when he curled wide of the post, before Zeki Amdouni fired wide at the other end of the pitch with just Gregor Kobel to beat. Dortmund were able to make their superiority count in the second quarter though, with Thorgan Hazard deflecting in Reus' shot for the opener, with Donyell Malen and a Jude Bellingham penalty giving them a comfortable lead.
Both teams made wholesale changes ahead of the third quarter, with Haller taking to the field for just the second time since July last year. He didn't need long to make an impact, converting from the penalty spot after Gio Reyna had been fouled. The 28-year-old's next goal was even easier, a close-range tap-in following good work down the right from Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt, with his hat-trick completed by a lovely back-heeled flick from a corner. Teenager Jamie Bynoe-Gittens also made his return to action after sustaining a serious shoulder injury in September in what was an all-round successful friendly for Dortmund.
Watch: Haller: "The best feeling ever"
Teams
Dortmund: Kobel (Meyer 91') – Süle (Can 74'), Hummels (Wolf 61'), Schlotterbeck (Coulibaly 91') – Malen (Reyna 61'), Bellingham (Bynoe-Gittens 81'), Özcan (Dahour 74'), Hazard (Rothe 61') – Adeyemi (Passlack 91'), Reus (Brandt 61') – Moukoko (Haller 61', Modeste 91')
Unused subs: Unbehaun
Out: Kamara (knee), Morey (knee)
Coach: Edin Terzic
Basel: Hitz (Salvi 61') – Lopez (Novoa 91'), Adams (Adjetey 61'), Frei (Dundas 61'), Calafiori (Vogel 61') - Burger (Onyegbule 61'), Diouf (Essiam 61') - Novoa (Xhaka 61'), Amdouni (Kade 61'), Millar (Akale, 61') – Fink (Zeqiri, 61')
Unused subs: -
Out: Augustin (muscle injury), Comas (muscle injury)
Coach: Alexander Frei
As it happened!
Reyna grimaces in pain and stays on the ground for a little while after taking a knock to his right ankle. It looks like he'll be ok to continue though.
A brief but highly impactful run-out for Haller. His workload will of course be carefully managed over the coming weeks and months, so Modeste comes on up front for the last 30 minutes.
The ball is rolling once more.
We'll have another brief interlude now ahead of the final 30 minutes of play.
Haller hits a seven-minute treble! A corner from the left is whipped towards the near post, where Haller flicks it with his heel into the far corner. What a story!
Lovely work from Adeyemi to release Brandt into space down the right. He gets to the byline and slides the ball into the middle, setting Haller up for a simple tap-in!
Well that just caps it all off! Haller, on his first appearance since being diagnosed with cancer last summer, strokes home the penalty for his first goal in a Dortmund shirt!
Reyna is tripped as he jinks past a defender in the box. Spot-kick for BVB!
A cross from the left finds Bellingham completely unmarked in front of goal, inside the six-yard box. It's a tricky one to take on the volley and the ball bounces off his foot, into the ground and then over the bar!
Basel burst forward down the left - Adeyemi can't quite keep up with his man - and the cross into the middle is a dangerous one, but Dortmund breathe a sigh of relief that nobody is able to prod it in.
Haller is involved early on, holding off a defender before laying the ball off to Wolf on his right. His attempted cross into the box is cut out though.
It's been all change on both sides, with plenty of new players taking to the pitch. Sebastien Haller, making his comeback following a cancer diagnosis, gets the ball rolling.
We're now at the halfway point of the game, with Dortmund three goals to the good. There'll be a 15-minute break and then two more 30-minute periods of play.
Bellingham dusts himself off to take the spot-kick himself. He sends his former teammate Hitz the wrong way, coolly stroking the ball into the goalkeeper's bottom-right corner.
Bellingham is felled by Lopez as he charges into the box, again from the left, and BVB have a penalty!
The Dortmund keeper maintains his side's two-goal lead with a full-stretch dive to his left to keep out a fierce drive from Millar.
Dortmund score again, and again it's down the Dortmund left. Malen is left with far too much space and the Dutchman makes no mistake from 10 yards.
The teenager is not giving the Basel defenders a moment's rest, is constantly putting them under pressure and trying to make something happen.
Reus gets the opening goal! Jinking inside the box on the left, his low drive takes a deflection off a defender's foot and leaves Hitz with no chance in the Basel goal!
The Dortmund captain is looking lean and keen here as he feels his way back from the ankle injury that forced him out of the World Cup. He's all over the pitch as he tries to make something happen for his side.
Basel get the ball rolling once more in Marbella.
A reminder that this match will consist of four 30-minute quarters, the first of which has now come to an end.
Amdouni with the clearest opening of the game as he is sent through, clear of the Dortmund defence. He bears down on goal and only has Kobel to beat, but seems to lose his nerve and fluffs his shot wide of the post. He should have done much better there.
Basel are offering more resistance now than they were in the opening stages, meaning there are more tackles flying in. Neither side are able to string any significant moves together.
A first real sign of danger from Basel as they get to the byline down the left. The ball is cut back into the middle at pace for Fink, but the attacker can only direct his effort wide of the far post.
BVB are still the superior side right now, pressing high up the pitch and pinning Basel back. The Swiss outfit can't find any room or time to settle at the moment.
First effort of note as Süle chops back onto his left foot from the right corner of the box, but can't quite fizz it on target as the ball flashes wide of the far post.
Bar a few free-kicks and corners for Basel, it's been Dortmund on the ball in the early stages. Most of it has been going through Bellingham, who's been typically everywhere between the penalty areas.
It's the warm weather Dortmund wanted when they picked Andalusia for their camp. It's so sunny that Gregor Kobel has to shield his eyes waiting for a free-kick to be delivered into his box. It comes to nothing in any case due to an offside.
The two sides are making their way out in Marbella. We're just a bit outside Puerto Banus, for those who know the area.
It's nothing new to see some unconventional formats and plenty of substitutions in these friendlies as coaches look to give as many minutes as possible to their squad. But remember that this game today will consist of four 30-minute periods. Expect to see two XIs getting an hour each.
This is Dortmund's second friendly game of their training camp in Marbella. They kicked things off on Tuesday with a 5-1 win over Bundesliga 2 side Fortuna Düsseldorf, including that Haller return.
Familiar faces This Basel squad contains a number of names Bundesliga fans will be familiar with. Goalkeeper Marwin Hitz spent 14 years in Germany with Augsburg and Dortmund, while striker Bradley Fink spent three years in the BVB academy. Hugo Novoa is also on loan from Leipzig. There are more players on the books not in the XI who have a Bundesliga past, plus coach Alexander Frei, who is a derby hero for Dortmund after a brace in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Schalke back in 2008.
Hitz - Lopez, Adams, Frei, Calafiori - Burger, Diouf - Novoa, Amdouni, Millar - Fink
Meyer, Unbehaun, Reyna, Dahoud, Haller, Wolf, Brandt, Modeste, Can, Passlack, Rothe, Bynoe-Gittens, Coulibaly
Kobel – Süle, Hummels, Schlotterbeck – Malen, Bellingham, Özcan, Hazard – Adeyemi, Reus – Moukoko
One of those returning to the fold in Marbella is Sebastien Haller. We’re yet to see the summer signing in competitive action for BVB after a routine check-up in the summer saw him diagnosed with testicular cancer. After two surgeries and chemotherapy, the Ivory Coast international is back in the action and made his debut in black and yellow as a late sub in Tuesday’s friendly against Fortuna Düsseldorf. It was an emotional moment for Haller and everyone around him.
Dortmund were looking a bit thin because of injuries at the back end of 2022, but they’re approaching full strength again after the break. The likes of Mo Dahoud and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens are both involved in their training camp in Marbella, Spain, as Edin Terzic’s side look to climb above the sixth place they currently occupy. And given the format of today’s game, we can expect to see a bit of everyone.
Welcome along to coverage of Borussia Dortmund's winter friendly against Basel. The game is being played in Marbella, Spain, where BVB are holding their training camp. The match will consist of four 30-minute periods.