Deadly Dortmund stay clear at the top

Borussia Dortmund 5-1 Hannover
Goals: 1-0 Hakimi (24'), 2-0 Reus (60’), 3-0 Götze (62’), 4-0 Guerreiro (67'), 4-1 Bakalorz (86'), 5-1 Witsel (90')

Hannover may be languishing in the relegation zone, but they came out to attack at the Signal Iduna Park. A Hendrik Weydandt header forced Roman Bürki into a smart save inside two minutes before captain Waldemar Anton blazed the ensuing corner over the bar. Dortmund soon found their feet, though, and the returning Marco Reus twice went close when lofting an effort onto the roof of the net and then hitting the base of the post. The Bundesliga’s top scorers were soon ahead when left-back Hakimi combined well with Raphael Guerreiro down the left before cutting inside and curling the ball inside Michael Esser’s far post. Hannover didn’t sit back, though, and in fact they matched the hosts for shots inside the opening half an hour (six each). Yet Portugal international Guerreiro came close to doubling the advantage shortly before the break when he volleyed Lukasz Piszczek’s long free-kick towards goal, but Esser was there to tip it over.

The visitors continued looking to play after the restart, but in the end it was that desire that cost them when Miiko Albornoz was dispossessed on the edge of his own area by a charging Hakimi, who squared the ball for Reus to flick over the line deftly with the outside of his boot. The three points were wrapped up just after the hour when Jadon Sancho cut inside from the left wing, ran across the edge of the box before slipping in Mario Götze to finish from a narrow angle. Guerreiro then added the third goal in the space of seven minutes with an almost carbon-copy of the previous, this time captain Reus providing the assist. Marvin Bakalorz got a late consolation for the away side with a deflected effort off Abdou Diallo, but Axel Witsel restored Dortmund's four-goal advantage in the final minute with a low driven effort. The win keeps BVB six points clear of Bayern Munich at the top. Hannover, however, remain second from bottom.

• Reus has 12 goals after the first 19 matches of a season for the first time in BVB colours.
• Dortmund are unbeaten at home in the Bundesliga this season (W9, D1), and have scored 34 of their league-high 50 goals in front of their own fans.
• Borussia have scored a league-high six goals through defenders this season, with Hakimi bagging two of them.
• BVB have scored multiple goals in all 10 home league games this season, and netted four goals in a Bundesliga match for the sixth time in 2018/19.
• Hannover are yet to win away from home this season (D4, L6) and won only once on their travels in 2017/18, some 22 games ago.

Line-ups

Dortmund: Bürki – Piszczek (Schmelzer 70’), Weigl, Diallo, Hakimi – Witsel, Delaney (Dahoud 79’) – Sancho, Reus (c), Guerreiro – Götze (Alcacer 66’)
Unused subs: Hitz, Pulisic, Bruun Larsen, Toprak
Out: Akanji (hip), Balerdi (U20 South American Championship), Zagadou (fitness)
Coach: Lucien Favre

Hannover: Esser – Akpoguma, Wimmer, Albornoz - Bakalorz, Anton (c), Fossum, Ostrzolek – Sarenren-Bazee (Asano 43’), Weydandt (Hadzic 84'), Müller (Dierßen 75’)
Unused subs: Sahin-Radlinger, Walace, Jonathas, Schwegler
Out: Bebou (thigh), Füllkrug (knee), Haraguchi (Asian Cup), Hübers (knee), Maina (knee), Prib (knee), Elez (knee), Felipe (illness), Sorg (lower back)
Coach: Andre Breitenreiter

Watch: Mario Götze discusses Marco Reus' importance to Dortmund