Erling Haaland at the double again as Borussia Dortmund beat Union Berlin
Erling Haaland took his goal tally to 11 in eight competitive outings this season as Borussia Dortmund overcame Union Berlin 4-2 on Sunday.
Dortmund 4-2 Union
Goals: 1-0 Guerreiro (10'), 2-0 Haaland (24'), 3-0 Friedrich (o.g. 52'), 3-1 Kruse (pen. 57'), 3-2 Voglsammer (81'), 4-2 Haaland (83')
Union had never scored away to Dortmund in their two previous visits, which ended in 2-0 and 5-0 defeats, but they nearly changed all that with just 40 seconds on the clock when Taiwo Awoniyi had the ball in the net, only to see it disallowed for offside. That was the visitors’ only sight of goal for a while, as BVB soon set about flexing their considerable attacking muscle, and they took the lead on 10 minutes when Raphael Guerreiro volleyed in a superb angled drive. Haaland doubled their advantage midway through the half, heading in from Thomas Meunier’s teasing right-wing cross. BVB remained superior for most of the half, but Marvin Friedrich’s long-range effort that was straight at Gregor Kobel was the closest either side came to adding to the scoreline before the interval.
Friedrich was involved again in the game’s next opening, albeit inadvertently. Marco Reus darted into the right side of the Union box and squared the ball into the middle towards Haaland, only for the Union defender to bundle it over the line as he attempted to clear. The hosts looked to be well on course for the win but they handed their visitors a lifeline just before the hour mark when Axel Witsel brought down Kevin Behrens inside the area, and Max Kruse duly converted the resulting spot-kick to reduce the deficit. Julian Ryerson tested Kobel with a vicious shot shortly afterwards as Union attempted to stage a fightback, and they did pull within touching distance of Dortmund when substitute Andreas Voglsammer headed in Nico Gießelmann’s corner, but Haaland restored his side’s two-goal cushion moments later, latching on to a long ball from Mats Hummels, holding off his marker and producing a stunning lob over Andreas Luthe to seal the points for Dortmund.
Match stats
- Dortmund scored for a 37th consecutive Bundesliga game - a club record and the third longest such run in the league's history.
- Union have conceded in the opening 15 minutes in three of their five Bundesliga outings this term.
- Haaland has netted 47 goals in 48 league appearances for Dortmund, becoming the youngest player ever to reach that tally.
- The Norwegian has 68 goals in 67 competitive games overall for the club, including 11 in eight this season.
- The 21-year-old has already scored two headers in the Bundesliga this season, as many as he managed in all of 2020/21.
- Kruse scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season and 86th overall. He has converted 20 of the 21 penalties he has taken in Germany's top flight.
Watch: Bellingham reflects on a good week for Dortmund
Line-ups
Dortmund: Kobel - Meunier, Akanji, Hummels (Pongracic 89'), Guerreiro - Bellingham, Witsel, Dahoud (Hazard 84') - Reus (c) (Moukoko 89') - Haaland, Malen (Wolf 73')
Unused subs: Hitz, Reinier, Passlack, Knauff, Raschl
Out: Brandt (muscular), Can (thigh), Coulibaly (knee), Morey (knee), Reyna (thigh), Schmelzer (knee), Schulz (thigh), Tigges (thigh), Zagadou (knee)
Coach: Marco Rose
Union: Luthe – Friedrich (c), Knoche, Baumgartl (Endo 77') – Ryerson, Prömel, Khedira (Haraguchi 71'), Gießelmann - Öztunali (Teuchert 55') - Kruse (Voglsammer 77'), Awoniyi (Behrens 55')
Unused subs: Rönnow, Jaeckel, Wszolek, Trimmel
Out: Möhwald (thigh)
Coach: Urs Fischer
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