Erling Haaland scored twice in the match yesterday. Dortmund Borussia won the game and it’s important to get three points in this type of game.
The return of the goal machine
Dortmund welcomed back Haaland following a three-game absence due to injury, but it was the left boot of Marco Reus that rocketed the home side into an early lead. Thomas Meunier’s right-wing cross deflected into the path of the BVB captain, who thundered an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net from 16 yards. Haaland went within a whisker of getting his head to a Julian Brandt cross, before Meunier side-footed wide following a powerful Haaland run. Mainz squandered a promising three-on-three with their only meaningful foray into Dortmund territory, and were hugely fortunate not to fall further behind as Moussa Niakhate cleared a Reus free-kick off the line, and Robin Zentner thwarted Haaland on the stroke of half-time.
Dortmund had to restart the situation again
Dominant in the first half and on the front-foot straight from the restart, Dortmund didn’t have to wait too long to stretch their lead. Shortly after Aaron Martin deflected a Meunier cross narrowly wide, Haaland won and converted a penalty following a lengthy VAR review for handball against Silvan Widmer. Karim Onisiwo threatened a response, but could not land his difficult lobbed attempt on target after beating the offside trap. Mats Hummels glanced a Reus corner against the far post as the contest opened up, before Jean-Paul Boetius forced Gregor Kobel into a strong reaction save with a shot from distance. Mainz substitute Jonathan Burkardt reduced the areas following a miscued Kobel clearance, but Haaland tucked away a pass from Jude Bellingham to seal the deal in added time with his 49th Bundesliga goal in as many games. Dortmund has many important games in the upcoming weeks. They need healthy and goal scoring Erling Haaland.