Borussia Dortmund ran out 5-0 winners against 1. FC Union Berlin at the Signal Iduna Park.
Lucien Favre's side commanded a two-goal lead at the end of the first half through goals from Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland. Marco Reus ended the game as a contest after 69 minutes from the penalty spot before the Norwegian added another along with Axel Witsel.
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Schlotterbeck, Subotic, Friedrich; Trimmel (Ryerson 74), Lenz, Andrich, Gentner (Prömel 69); Malli (Becker 59), Andersson, Bülter
Head coach Urs Fischer changed his side about from the 2-0 home win against Augsburg last Saturday. Both changes freshened up the XI on the flanks with Marius Bülter replacing Anthony Ujah and Marcus Ingvartsen sitting out as Yunus Malli was given his first Bundesliga start for the Köpenick club. Bülter, who scored the opener in Leipzig a fortnight ago, was a few centimetres away from slotting in the opener after three minutes. However, the positive start appeared to come against the eventual flow of the game as Favre’s men dominated with an impressive speed and purpose. Jadon Sancho’s shot was deflected past Rafal Gikiewicz after 13 minutes and Erling Haaland knocked home Julian Brandt’s cross five minutes later. As the half drew to a close, Union carved out one chance from a set piece – Trimmel’s delivery found Keven Schlotterbeck unmarked but the on-loan central defender blazed over.
The same Union players emerged after the break and enjoyed a decent enough period. Bülter drilled a shot inches wide of Roman Bürki’s target after cutting inside from right on to his left foot. Malli’s game was over after 59 minutes as he was replaced by Sheraldo Becker, but seven minutes later, the home side were home and dry. Benjamin Cortius pointed to the spot after Haaland went down in the box and after confirmation from VAR, Marco Reus slotted home. A small glimmer of positivity from Saturday’s game was the return of midfielder Grischa Prömel in the 69th minute after taking the place of Christian Gentner. Sancho set up Axel Witsel for the fourth on 70 minutes and Haaland bagged his second with 76 gone. Julian Ryerson ended the game at right back in place of Trimmel, while Marvin Friedrich accepted the captain’s armband for the remainder of the 90 minutes.
A difficult afternoon's work will be put to one side in midweek as Union make the trip to SC Verl in the DFB Pokal on Wednesday at 18:30. Afterwards, the squad will head north to Bremen where Union will look to avenge the disappointing result against Dortmund at the Weser-Stadion on Saturday afternoon.
Union make trip to Borussia Dortmund
Match preview
With three points in the bag from last week's win over FC Augsburg, 1. FC Union Berlin will make the trip to the Westfalenstadion to face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday February 1 at 15:30.
Review: Second half goals see off Augsburg, Dortmund smash Cologne
Given the task ahead with three away trips in seven days, 1. FC Union Berlin collected three important points against Martin Schmidt's side. After a goalless first half, Neven Subotic scored his first Bundesliga goal for Union — his last in the German top-flight came in May 2015 against Hertha in the colours of Dortmund. Marcus Ingvartsen held his nerve to slot home the second and give the Köpenick club the necessary cushion to see the game out in style. A sixth win at home moved Union ahead of Augsburg in the table and up to 11th.
Borussia Dortmund picked up three points on Friday evening, beating 1. FC Köln 5-1. A week after his hat-trick in Augsburg, Norwegian Erling Haaland came off the bench to score another double in the Bundesliga. The 19-year-old has five goals in 59 Bundesliga minutes — an average of a goal every 12 minutes. Marco Reus, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Guerreiro also scored as Dortmund moved within four points of RB Leipzig, who stuttered at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Record: Near misses in DFB Pokal
So far, 1. FC Union Berlin's history at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund summounts to excellent performances in the DFB Pokal. In October 2016, Steven Skrzybski equalised with eight minutes left to take the match beyond the regular 90. In the end, Dortmund won 3-0 on penalties to go through to the third round. Last season, Sebastian Polter scored twice to level at 2-2 after 90 minutes, but a penalty from Marco Reus in the 121st minute avoided a cup scare for the home side.
Personnel: Midfield issues for Fischer
The Union coach confirmed the absence of Laurenz Dehl and Andy Gogia. Fischer will also do without Manuel Schmiedebach and Felix Kroos.
"The first leg has shown that if we have the courage to try for 90 minutes and stay strong when things are difficult, then we have a chance to score. Dortmund have a team that is incredibly dangerous in forward areas. Even from the bench they can still bring something dangerous. It won't be an easy task, but every task can be tried to solve and that's exactly what we have to do. It needs a top performance on our part, we have to be prepared, show courage and try to make their lives as difficult as possible," said Fischer.
Service: Union to travel in big numbers
1. FC Union Berlin have previously taken large numbers to Dortmund for Cup action and the same is expected for the first Bundesliga encounter since Union ran out 3-1 winners in Köpenick. More than 8,000 will be in red with the away end completely sold out.
