Super-sub Brandt earns Dortmund win

VfB Stuttgart 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Brandt 12' (assist: Haaland), 0-2 Brandt 72' (assist: Reus)

Little over a minute had been played when Gio Reyna pulled up with an ankle problem and was forced to leave the action, fighting back the tears at what his latest injury setback. Brandt took his place after a rapid warm-up and he had to be alert to move out of the way of a rasping Raphael Guerreiro shot which grazed the outside of the left-hand post. Brandt was soon in the thick of the action and he was in just the right place to turn Erling Haaland's pass into an open goal to give the guests the lead. Marco Reus almost added a second, bringing a fine save out of Florian Müller, before Stuttgart clicked into action. March Rookie of the Month Omar Marmoush dinked an effort over Gregor Kobel, but also agonisingly over the crossbar, as the Swabians stepped up their search for an equaliser. Dortmund, meanwhile, had to respond to their second injury-enforced defection when Mahmoud Dahoud left the field 10 minutes before the break with a shoulder injury, Axel Witsel replacing him.

Tiago Tomas almost got Stuttgart off to a flyer in the second half, but he turned the ball wide with the goal at his mercy. Pascal Stenzel became the next Stuttgart player to miss the target by inches when his shot from outside the area just cleared the crossbar. Guerreiro did the same at the other end from a Reus pass, after the Germany international had stung Müller's palms with a long-range effort of his own. Reus then teed up Brandt to take a dip, and he showed better accuracy to beat Müller and double Dortmund's lead. Borna Sosa's effort with 10 minutes to go was about as accurate as you can get, but that was not enough to beat Kobel, who turned the ball wide with a remarkable save. Sosa's next effort was even sweeter, but this time the crossbar came to Dortmund's rescue with Kobel beaten. Neither effort went close enough to getting Stuttgart back into the game, as they fell to a defeat which leaves them right in the thick of a relegation battle.

• Brandt scored the earliest goal by a substitute in Bundesliga history, in the 12th minute. He had been on the field just six minutes.
• It was the 11th Dortmund goal this season scored by a substitute – more than any other club in the Bundesliga.
• Brandt completed his first brace for Dortmund; his last game in a Leverkusen shirt against Mainz in 2019.
• Stuttgart conceded at home for the 19th game in a row, extending a club record.
• Dortmund have only lost two of their last 11 trips to Stuttgart (W8, D2).
• Jamie Bynoe-Gittens was named in the Dortmund squad for the first time.

Watch: Julian Brandt reflects on his match-winning brace

Stuttgart: Müller - Stenzel, Mavropanos, Ito, Sosa - Endo (c), Karazor, Mangala (Coulibaly 62') - Marmoush (Thommy 79'), Tomas (Millot 89'), Führich (Massimo 78')
Unused subs: Bredlow, Mola, Beyaz, Bazzoli, Tibidi
Out: Ahamada (toe), Anton (suspended), Didavi (Achilles), Egloff (back), Förster (not included), Kalajdzic (not included), Nartey (knee), Sankoh (knee), Silas (shoulder)
Coach: Pellegrino Matarazzo

Dortmund: Kobel - Can, Akanji, Hummels (Zagadou 46') - Hazard, Dahoud (Witsel 36'), Bellingham, Guerreiro (Wolf 75') - Reyna (Brandt 6'), Haaland, Reus (c)
Unused subs: Hitz, Moukoko, Reinier, Pongracic, Bynoe-Gittens
Out: Malen (muscular), Meunier (muscular), Morey (knee), Passlack (muscular), Schmelzer (knee), Schulz (muscular), Tigges (ankle)
Coach: Marco Rose

Watch: Marco Rose backs 'world-class' Gio Reyna to come back stronger