Efficient Dortmund overpower Hoffenheim in Bundesliga
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E-mail Xinhua, January 23, 2022
Runner-up Borussia Dortmund clinched its third straight win in the Bundesliga after seeing off fourth placed Hoffenheim 3-2 at the 20th round on Saturday.
The "BVB" took over from the start and needed only five minutes to break the deadlock as a fine combination via Donyell Malen allowed Erling Haaland to tap home the opener from very close range.
Hoffenheim responded well as substitute Georginio Rutter rattled the woodwork following a corner in the 12th minute before Chris Richards' header hit the bar 11 minutes later.
Dortmund remained passive and got punished just before the break as Andrej Kramaric restored parity after volleying Ihlas Bebou's cross past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Hoffenheim dictated the pace after the restart, but it was Dortmund who took the lead again in the 58th minute when Marco Reus finished off Malen's through ball, making it 2-1 on the scoreboards.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as David Raum's own goal following Malen's dangerous square pass into the box doubled Dortmund's lead in the 67th minute.
Hoffenheim bounced back and reduced the arrears through Rutter, who kept his cool with only Kobel to beat and made it 3-2 ten minutes later.
The "TSG" had the big chance to snatch a late 3-3 draw but for all that Sebastian Rudy pulled wide from promising position in the closing stages.
"We caught a good start. We played well for like 15 minutes. After that, Hoffenheim got stronger and stronger. In the end, we protected an unflattering win until the final whistle," Borussia Dortmund's head coach Marco Rose said.
Elsewhere, third placed Bayer Leverkusen showed no mercy and cruised 5-1 past struggling Augsburg with Moussa Diaby's hat trick.
Borussia Monchengladbach suffered its second defeat in a row after Max Kruse's brace helped Union Berlin to reap a 2-1 away win.
Freiburg returned to winning ways in the league after an own goal from Hiroki Ito and goal from Kevin Schade smoothed the way for a 2-0 victory over Stuttgart.
Last placed Greuther Furth edged Mainz 2-1 to record the second win of the season and Cologne held Bochum to a 2-2 draw.
Already on Friday, newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld stunned Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 on the road.
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