Dortmund edge Mainz 2-1 in German Bundesliga

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BERLIN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund move atop the standings for now after Jadon Sancho provided a brace to seal a hard earned 2-1 victory over resilient Mainz at the 29th round in Bundesliga on Saturday.

The "BVB" staged a dominant first half and established a two-goal lead within 24 minutes. However, things changed after the interval as Mainz gained a foothold into the game after reducing the arrears in the closing period.

The hosts grabbed the reins from the start in front of home crowd as Thomas Delaney headed into the arms of Mainz goalkeeper Florian Muller before Bruun Larsen rattled the right post from five meters with nine minutes played.

Dortmund's efforts were rewarded moments later as Mario Gotze's cross into the box found Jadon Sancho, who tapped home from very close range to break the deadlock in the 17th minute.

The hosts gained momentum to double the lead seven minutes later when Thomas Delaney's square pass allowed Sancho to wrap up his brace from inside the box.

The visitors showed a vital sign before the break as Karim Onisiwo hit the woodwork from very close range.

After the restart, Mainz came out with their guns blazing as Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jean-Paul Boetius forced Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki into action.

Mainz increased the pressure but Onisiwo struck the post again, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was unable to overcome Burki with a long-range effort at the hour mark.

Sandro Schwarz' men eventually scored in the 84th minute when Robin Quaison poked the ball over the line.

Mainz pressed the "BVB" into the defence but goalkeeper Roman Burki stood firm and saved his side the narrow 2-1 lead with another three saves in the dying minutes of the game.

With the result, Dortmund climb to the first place for the moment meanwhile Mainz stay on the 12th position after suffering 14th loss of the season.

Elsewhere, third placed Leipzig ensured their fourth straight win after beating Wolfsburg 2-1.

Bayer Leverkusen increased Stuttgart's relegation worries as Kai Havertz' second half goal was enough to snatch all three points on the road.

Werder Bremen substantiated their ambitions to start in Europa League next season after beating Freiburg 2-1, and Borussia Monchengladbach returned to winning ways after Raffael scored the sole goal of the match against bottom side Hannover.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Sunday: Bayern Munich encounter newly promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf and Hoffenheim face Hertha Berlin. Enditem

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