Borussia Dortmund had Mats Hummels sent off on the stroke of half-time, but held on to beat Hertha Berlin on Jürgen Klinsmann's debut thanks to earlier goals from Jadon Sancho and Thorgan Hazard.

Hertha Berlin 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Sancho (15'), 0-2 Hazard (17') 1-2 Darida (34')
Red card: Hummels (45')

Former Germany, Bayern Munich and USMNT coach Klinsmann was thrown in straight at the deep end, three days after succeeding Ante Covic in the Hertha hot seat. A chastening debut was on the cards when Sancho calmly converted Julian Brandt's eye-of-the-needle pass, before Hazard applied a similarly deft finish to Achraf Hakimi's inch-perfect cross barely two minutes later. Dortmund had their tails up, but there were signs of life from Hertha as Dodi Lukebakio tested Roman Bürki for the first time. The Belgian turned provider as Vladimir Darida went one better with his strike to reduce the arrears, and it got worse for BVB in the 45th minute when Hummels - already on a booking - received his marching orders for a foul on Davie Selke.

Selke had the ball in the net early in the second half, but his strike - a well-taken effort from Marko Grujic's incisive through-ball - was ruled out for a marginal offside decision following consultation with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Dortmund had almost every player back in their own half as Hertha attempted to ram home their numerical advantage. Axel Witsel put in a crucial block in front of Maximilian Mittelstädt and Grujic made Bürki work from distance, but clear-cut chances were at a premium. Salomon Kalou scored four of his eight goals last season against Dortmund, and very nearly added another in injury time, heading wide. Grujic saw a late effort blocked as Hertha slipped to a fifth straight loss, while Lucien Favre's BVB recorded their first league win since Matchday 10.

Match stats

• Hertha have conceded a league-high 10 in their last three games. BVB have only let in one fewer.
• Dortmund have lost just one of their last 12 games against Hertha in all competitions.
• Hazard scored his 33rd Bundesliga goal. He is the joint-highest scoring Belgian in the German top flight's history, alongside former Schalke and Hamburg striker Emile Mpenza.
• Darida scored his second goal of the season. He did not score at all last term.
• Brandt provided his first Bundesliga assist of the season - and first as a BVB player.
• Sancho has scored in three successive matches for the first time since October 2018.

Watch: Axel Witsel praises Dortmund's fighting spirit

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Line-ups

Hertha: Kraft - Rekik, Stark (c) (Ibisevic 68'), Boyata, Mittelstädt - Wolf, Skjelbred, Grujic, Lukebakio (Dilrosun 68') – Darida (Kalou 78') – Selke
Unused subs: Smarsch, Klünter, Köpke, Plattenhardt, Maier, Torunarigha
Out: Duda (not included), Jarstein (suspended), Löwen (match fitness)
Coach: Jürgen Klinsmann

Dortmund: Bürki – Hakimi, Akanji, Hummels, Zagadou – Witsel, Guerreiro – Sancho (Schmelzer 90'+1), Reus (c) (Götze 90'+2), Hazard (Piszczek 85') – Brandt
Unused subs: Hitz, Dahoud, Schulz, Balerdi, Morey, Raschi
Out: Alcacer (knee), Bruun Larsen (knee), Delaney (ankle), Weigl (not included)
Coach: Lucien Favre

Watch: Lucien Favre on Dortmund's return to winning ways

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Borussia Dortmund

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