Gio Reyna kick-starts rout as Borussia Dortmund overwhelm Holstein Kiel in DFB Cup semi-finals
Gio Reyna scored twice to pave the way for Borussia Dortmund to overcome Bundesliga 2 outfit Holstein Kiel 5-0 in the DFB Cup semi-finals, setting up a showdown with RB Leipzig in the final.
Borussia Dortmund 5-0 Holstein Kiel Goals: 1-0Reyna (16'), 2-0 Reyna (23'), 3-0Reus (26'), 4-0Hazard (32'), 5-0Bellingham (42')
There was no indication that the match would be won by such a high scoreline in the first quarter of an hour, as Kiel - who knocked holders Bayern Munich out in the second round - pressed high and aggressively. However, the floodgates opened on 16 minutes when Reyna received a pass from Jadon Sancho on the edge of the box and immediately slammed a shot inside the far post. The visitors groggy from that blow, BVB pressed home their advantage and soon put the match out of reach. Reyna tapped in his second from close range following good work from Raphael Guerreiro and Marco Reus, who soon added a third himself from Emre Can's superb pass over the defence. Thorgan Hazard capitalised on a stray pass in midfield to net his side's fourth, while Jude Bellingham's deflected strike shortly before half-time dashed even the remotest of hopes of a Kiel comeback.
Dortmund understandably eased off somewhat in the second half, but still went close to adding to the scoreline through Bellingham, who dinked narrowly wide after a some sublime skill in the box, and Sancho, who curled over following a short corner. Their lead was never in doubt and although Kiel created a couple of promising shooting opportunities, Marwin Hitz was never seriously tested in goal. The victory was marred by an injury to second-half substitute Mateu Morey, who was taken to hospital after hurting his knee while stretching for the ball and is set to miss the final with Leipzig in Berlin on 13 May.
Match stats
Sancho is second in this season’s DFB Cup scoring chart on four goals. Only RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen has more with five.
Dortmund are four-time winners of the DFB Cup. They reached four straight finals between 2014 and 2017, but this is the first year since then that they have gone beyond the round of 16.
BVB beat Kiel 4-0 away from home in the only previous competitive encounter in the 2011/12 quarter-finals as they won the domestic double under Jürgen Klopp. Mats Hummels and Lukasz Piszczek are the only current Borussia players who featured that day.
Former Dortmund youth product Janni Serra is Kiel’s top scorer in all competitions this season with 11 goals, including three in the cup.
Holstein boast the meanest defence in Bundesliga 2 this season having only conceded 26 times in 27 games.
Kiel were champions of Germany back in 1911/12, but this is only the second time they’ve made the final four of the cup. The other occasion saw them beaten 6-0 by anther Ruhr opponent, Schalke, back in 1940/41.
Kiel: Dähne - Dehm (Neumann 46'), Wahl (c), Lorenz, Komenda - Meffert - Reese (Porath 46'), Hauptmann, Lee (Girth 76'), Bartels (Mees 68') - Serra (Arslan 30') Unused subs: Reimann, van den Bergh, Mühling, Sterner Out: Gelios (not included), Thesker (Achilles' tendon) Coach: Ole Werner
AS IT HAPPENED!
5 - 0
(0 - 0)
Dortmund
FINAL
Kiel
DFB Pokal Semi-final Semi-final Signal Iduna Park
DORTMUND TO FACE LEIPZIG
Dortmund did the damage in the first half, as a brace from Reyna and further goals from Reus, Hazard and Bellingham gave BVB a 5-0 lead at the interval. They eased off in the second period, but could still have had a couple more goals. They will now meet RB Leipzig in the final in Berlin on 13 May.
Slick passing from Hazard, Bellingham and Sancho as Dortmund purr through the gears on the edge of the area. The latter eventually lays it off to Reinier, whose curling shot is well saved by Dähne.
84'
ALMOST FROM HUMMELS
The BVB centre-back slides in to try and prod Hazard's low cross over the line, but a combination of a defender and goalkeeper Dähne just about manage to keep him out.
80'
WAITING FOR THE WHISTLE
Both teams know the jig is up and neither are pressing particularly purposefully for a goal now. There's plenty of passing in midfield, not much drive forward.
76'
JUST WIDE FROM BELLINGHAM
Lovely quick feet from the teenager inside the Kiel box to take him past his marker. He dinks the ball over the goalkeeper, but his effort rolls narrowly wide of the far post.
There's a break in play as Morey receives treatment. He looks to have injured his right knee while chasing after the ball, and he'll be carried off on a stretcher.
Bartels picks out Porath with a brilliant diagonal pass as he arrives into the Dortmund box. He's in space and only has Hitz to beat if he can get a shot away, but he dithers just too long, giving Hummels time to get back and back a brilliant block.
65'
SANCHO AGAIN
A loose Kiel pass in midfield allows Dortmund to canter forward on the break. Brandt slips the ball into Sancho's path, but his fierce drive is deflected wide for a corner.
62'
FRESH LEGS
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic takes off Piszczek, Reus and Can to give them a breather, bringing on Morey, Reinier and Delaney as like-for-like replacements.
Dortmund take a short corner on the left and it's worked to Sancho, about 25 yards from goal. He lines up a shot but curls it well off target.
55'
STICK OR TWIST?
Both sides will be asking themselves the same question here. Do Kiel push for a consolation goal to restore a measure of pride, or should they go into damage limitation mode to avoid an even heavier scoreline? And should Dortmund push for more and risk allowing their visitors a goal? Or should they simply run down the clock. So many questions...
51'
BELLINGHAM ALMOST IN
Dortmund's press forces Kiel into a mistake. Bellingham darts into the box and Sancho finds him with a perfectly weighted pass into his run. His attempted cross is cut out for a corner though.
47'
BACK UNDERWAY
Kiel get the ball rolling again at the Signal Iduna Park. Both teams have made changes at the break. Brandt has come on for Reyna for Dortmund, while Porath and Neumann have replaced Komenda and Dehm for the away side.
Kiel started brightly and were by no means overawed in the opening exchanges, but once Reyna broke the deadlock in the 16th minute, the floodgates opened. Dortmund have looked dangerous with virtually every subsequent attack and have surely put the outcome of this game beyond Kiel's reach now.
That's surely Dortmund home and dry now. Sancho twists and turns on the edge of a crowded Kiel box, eventually laying it off to Bellingham. The England international smashes a first-time shot, which flies in via a deflection.
Dortmund are enjoying themselves out there now and have been camped out in Kiel's half for the last few minutes. They're threatening to score with every attack, Hazard shooting just wide of the post from 12 yards in their latest effort.
FOUR IN FIVE FOR REYNA
Reyna clearly thrives in this competition, and now has four goals for BVB in just five cup outings. He scored his first senior goal in the last 16 against Bremen last season, and was also on target this term in the first round win over Duisburg.
BVB's high press forces a loose pass in midfield and it runs kindly for Hazard. He's still got plenty of work to do, but holds off a defender brilliantly before placing a low shot into the corner from the edge of the area!
He's been Kiel's best player so far, and he almost pulls a goal back instantly for the visitors, smashing a shot from the edge of the box that beats Hitz but crashes off the upright!
26'
THE DECIDER?
Can dinks a lovely ball over the Kiel defence, right into Reus's path. He takes a touch to control it before calmly slotting itpast Dähne and into the net!
It's the first time the American has scored twice in one game as a pro, and they won't get much easier. Reus dribbles into the Kiel box on the left and gets to the byline before back-heeling it to Guerreiro, who flicks it with his heel across the six-yard box. Reyna arrives at the back post to tap into an empty net!
The Kiel winger makes mischief again down the left, driving into the box, doing a couple of step-overs and getting a shot away. It's no problem for Hitz, though.
16'
DORTMUND LEAD!
Sancho jinks in from the left wing, draws a couple of defenders to him and slides the ball into Reyna's feet. The USA international is on the edge of the area and wastes no time in smashing a precise shot into the net!
The Belgium international surges into the Kiel box on the right and wriggles himself into space. He gets a shot away, but drags it well wide of the far post.
10'
GLIMPSE FOR DORTMUND
Reus lays the ball off to Reyna after Dortmund win the ball deep in Kiel's half. The home captain sprints into space, demanding a return pass, but Reyna instead plays it to his left to Guerreiro, whose attempted cross is blocked. Reus is not happy, and lets Reyna know it!
9'
FIRST WHIFF OF DANGER
Kiel attacker Reese does brilliantly down the left, jinking inside Piszczek into space. He gets to the byline and crosses into the middle, but can only find a Dortmund shirt. Still, he'll have been encouraged by that, and it's more of an opening than BVB have managed to forge so far.
6'
DORTMUND SETTLING
BVB have had 70 per cent of possession so far and made 44 passes to Kiel's 19. They're trying to impose their game, but the Bundesliga 2 outfit have looked sturdy at the back so far.
3'
KIEL AGGRESSIVE
The visitors are by no means overawed and are going at their hosts, pressing them high in their own half at times.
1'
AND WE'RE OFF!
Dortmund get the ball rolling. Here we go!
Kick-off!
HISTORY ON DORTMUND'S SIDE
BVB have progressed in each of their last 26 cup meetings with non-Bundesliga teams.
ONE TO WATCH: FIN BARTELS
Kiel attacking midfielder Fin Bartels will be familiar to many observers, the 34-year-old having scored 24 goals in 131 games for Werder Bremen between 2014 and 2020. He also played when Bremen knocked Dortmund out of the DFB Cup in the round of 16 last season.
Speaking of Bayern, Kiel edged past the 2020 cup winners 6-5 on penalties in the second round in January, before beating Darmstadt and Rot-Weiss Essen to reach the semi-finals. They are also in the hunt for automatic promotion to the Bundesliga and currently sit fourth in the standings, seven points behind second-placed Greuther Fürth but with three games in hand.
SECOND EVER MEETING
This is only the second time these teams have met each other. Dortmund won the first, in the DFB Cup quarter-finals in 2012, putting four goals past Kiel without reply. Incidentally, BVB went on to win the competition that year, and beat Bayern 5-2 in the final.
TEAM NEWS – KIEL
Head coach Ole Werner has made four changes to his side following the 1-1 draw with Nuremberg on Tuesday: van den Bergh, Neumann, Mees and Porath all make way for Komenda, Dehm, Rees and Bartels.
TEAM NEWS - DORTMUND
The big news a few moments ago was the absence of leading scorer Erling Haaland from the BVB squad. The club confirmed he is sidelined due to "muscular problems", meaning Thorgan Hazard starts in his place up top, flanked by Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Gio Reyna in attacking midfield. Elsewhere, Mahmoud Dahoud is suspended for this game so Emre Can and Jude Bellingham start in central midfield, while veteran Lukas Piszczek gets the nod at right-back.
DORTMUND STARTING XI
Hitz - Piszczek, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro - Bellingham, Can - Sancho, Reus (c), Reyna - Hazard
Reimann, Neumann, van den Bergh, Arslan, Mees, Mühling, Porath, Sterner, Girth
HELLO AND WELCOME!
After RB Leipzig edged past Werder Bremen in the first semi-final yesterday, with Emil Forsberg scoring in the final seconds of extra time to secure a 2-1 win, Dortmund and Kiel now lock horns in a bid to join them in the final later this month.
