Borussia Dortmund hosted a Union Berlin side who had failed to win in six matches in all competitions.
The first half was marred by VAR decisions. Niclas Füllkrug opened the scoring for Dortmund from a corner before only minutes later Robin Gosens equalised from a Union corner. Alex Kral and Füllkrug would then have goals disallowed for offside after lengthy VAR checks. Union would then get a penalty which Leonardo Bonucci would convert to score his first Bundesliga goal.
In the second half, Dortmund took control of the game. A long-range effort from Nico Schlotterbeck levelled the game for Dortmund before a counter-attack which finished with a Julian Brandt goal gave Dortmund the lead. Dortmund would then double their lead when Julian Ryerson scored his second goal in two games.
The win means Dortmund go into second place, one point behind leaders VfB Stuttgart. While for Union they drop down to 13th and remain winless in seven games.
Borussia Dortmund:
Gregor Kobel – 6
Marius Wolf – 5
Mats Hummels – 7 – Another strong defensive performance from Hummels showed why he has been recalled to the German national team. However, an injury in the 73rd minute and subsequent substitution may have put this into doubt.
Nico Schlotterbeck – 8 – Schlotterbeck’s performance sent a message to Julian Nagelsmann after being excluded from the national team for Germany’s October friendlies. Kept Union’s attack quiet for the majority of the game before topping off his performance with a terrific long-range effort.
Julian Ryerson – 6
Emre Can – 6
Felix Nmecha – 6
Donyell Malen – 7
Marco Reus – 8 – Despite his age and lack of durability, Reus once again showed that he is still key for Dortmund’s attack. The 34-year-old was at the centre of most attacking moves for Dortmund and even provided an assist for Brandt’s goal.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens – 5
Niclas Füllkrug – 6
Others: Julian Brandt (7), Giovanni Reyan (6), Niklas Süle (5), Salih Özcan (-), Sebastien Haller (-)
Union Berlin:
Frederick Rønnow – 4
Danilho Doekhi – 5
Leonardo Bonucci – 5
Diogo Leite – 5
Christopher Trimmel – 6
Aïssa Laïdouni – 5
Alex Kral – N/A
Jannick Haberer – 5
Robin Gosens – 6
Kevin Behrens – 5
Sheraldo Becker – 5
Others: Lucas Tousart (5), Brenden Aaronson (6), Kevin Volland (5), David Fofana (5), Jérôme Roussillon (5)
GGFN | Jack Meenan
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