Marco Reus fires Borussia Dortmund to victory over Hoffenheim

Marco Reus scored his second goal of the season as Borussia Dortmund edged Hoffenheim 1-0 in the Bundesliga Matchday 5 opener on Friday.

Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Hoffenheim
Goals: 1-0 Reus 16′ (assist: Brandt)

Having lost their last home game 3-2 to Werder Bremen in dramatic fashion late on, Dortmund began eager to make amends in front of their own fans here. Edin Terzic’s side dominated from the off and although chances were scarce in the opening quarter of an hour, a sublime pass from Julian Brandt changed the game, the midfielder’s exquisite first-time ball finding Reus to fire in from close range. Hoffenheim were on the back foot for the remainder of the half – they only had one shot in the first 45 minutes – while BVB had several opportunities to extend their lead. Brandt lashed an angled shot wide after outfoxing Angelino and Reus curled an effort off target following a neat back-heeled flick from Jude Bellingham.

The visitors emerged for the second half with far greater purpose and Georginio Rutter had their best chance of the game after turning Nico Schlotterbeck on the edge of the box and flashing a shot wide. Andrej Kramaric then curled a free-kick over the bar from 20 yards as Hoffenheim sought to gain momentum, but they were forced to defend again soon later when Oliver Baumann denied Thorgan Hazard and Anthony Modeste in quick succession, before Bellingham headed wide from a corner. Modeste could have sealed the points on the counter in the closing stages after a lightning-fast break involving Reus and Hazard, but he lashed over from 18 yards. The final few minutes were rather more nervy than the home side would have liked as a result of that miss, but they held on to take maximum spoils ahead of their opening UEFA Champions League game with Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Match stats

• It was the 60th time Reus has netted the first goal in a top-flight league game.
• Brandt registered his second assist of the campaign, more than any other BVB player.
• Dortmund have now scored at least once in 70 of their last 71 league outings, the only exception being a 1-0 reverse at Borussia Mönchengladbach last season.
• A season-high seven yellow cards were shown in this game.
• BVB are unbeaten in their last 33 home matches on a Friday night – a run which includes a 3-2 win in last season’s corresponding fixture.
• Andre Breitenreiter has lost all five of his last away games in Dortmund as a coach.

Teams

Dortmund: Kobel – Meunier, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Wolf (Süle 83′) – Bellingham, Özcan – Bynoe-Gittens (Hazard 44′), Reus (c) (Moukoko 90’+2), Brandt (Reyna 83′) – Modeste
Unused subs: Meyer, Can, Passlack, Rothe
Out: Adeyemi (foot), Dahoud (shoulder), Guerreiro (unconfirmed), Haller (testicular cancer), Malen (muscular), Morey (knee)
Coach: Edin Terzic

Hoffenheim: Baumann (c) – Kabak, Vogt, Akpoguma – Skov (Kaderabek 46′), Prömel (Dabbur 46′), Geiger (Rudy 46′), Angelino – Baumgartner (Damar 46′) – Kramaric, Rutter (Bruun Larsen 86′)
Unused subs: Philipp, Stiller, Samassekou, Quaresma
Out: Bebou (knee), Bicakcic (knee), Hübner (ankle), Nsoki (thigh), Pentke (elbow)
Coach: Andre Breitenreiter