A dazzling display from English teenager Jadon Sancho drove Borussia Dortmund to a 4-0 win over fellow Champions League hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen. Sancho scored the first then set up two as BVB took a firm grip on third.Borussia Dortmund 4 – 0 Bayer Leverkusen
(Sancho 13′, Reus 55′, 79′, Philipp 63′)
Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund
FULL TIME: No injury time and that’s the end of that. An emphatic display from Dortmund, who were electric going forward and never gave Leverkusen a sniff at the other end.
Marco Reus scored two and missed a penalty but Jadon Sancho was the star of the show. The English 18-year-old scored the first, created two more – and sparkled all game. We’ll have plenty more on this one soon.
As it happened:
86′ – Some smart combination play between Reus and Götze creates space for Dahoud, but he floats his shot over the bar. Reus is replaced by Spanish youngster Sergio Gomez, who makes his second substitute appearance in the Bundesliga.
83′ – So close to the hat-trick for Reus. The ball bounces kidly off Dahoud in to his path but Leverkusen scramble it away.
79′ – GOAL! Sensational from Sancho again. He’s been absolutely outrageous today and he’s just 18. This time he isolates his fullback and dinks one up to Reus to nod home at the back post.
74′ – Perhaps I spoke too soon. Brandt finds Volland with a low cross but his shot is well saved by Bürki. Still, Leverkusen have had a shot on target. So that’s something.
73′ – Dortmund managing the game now, Leverkusen don’t seem to have much to give. Pulisic has been replaced by Dahoud.
68′ – Is this Dortmund’s best performance of the season? I’d say it is. But is it enough to get Peter Stöger the job full time?
63′ – GOAL! Wow. This is an absolute stunner. Sancho brings down a high ball with a brilliant flick that gets him away from his man. Then he stabs it to Philipp who does the rest. Game over.
61′ – The hour mark passes without Leverkusen having a shot on target. A thoroughly disappointing performance from Heiko Herrlich’s side.
55′ – GOAL! Finally Reus gets his goal. Götze turned a pass around the corner with a beautiful touch and Reus rounded the keeper before finishing from a tight angle. It’s no less than the hosts deserve.
54′ – Havertz, who replaced Bailey at the break, lets fly from 20 yards out and his shot whistles narrowly over the bar. A warning for Dortmund.
52′ – Reus goes so close to atonement. The Germany international curled a brilliant shot from the corner of the Leverkusen box but it clipped the bar. Might Dortmund live to regret not killing this off?
51′ – Dortmund nearly break through on the counter. A brilliant, jinking run saw Sancho beat three or four players before laying off to Götze. His shot was cleard off the line but looked to be going wide.
49′ – Leverkusen have a spell of early pressure but are still yet to force Bürki in to a save.
46′ – We’re back underway in the second half.
HALF TIME – That’s it for the first 45. Dortmund could, and probably should be three up. Marco Reus missed a penalty and Jadon Sancho spurned a sitter before scoring his first professional goal just over a minute later. But while it’s one, Leverkusen still have a chance.
45+3 – Brandt floats one to the back post and a couple of Leverkusen forwards tumble. They protest but there was no foul there.
44′ – Alario is played in by Brandt on the left but his cross is easily dealt with by Töprak.Bürki punches away the resulting corner. Tah has had to be substituted after that injury, Jedvaj replaces him.
40′ – Another break in play now, with Tah player receiving treatment. A little time for Reus to dwell on that miss. Dortmund could be out of sight by now.
37′ – Reus misses! He stikes it decently but at a great height for Özcan, who saves a spot kick on his first Bundesliga appearance for two years.
36′ – Penalty to Dortmund. Retsos adjudged to have pulled back Pulisic.
34′ – Reus has one disallowed. A sensational ball from Töprak finds Philipp. He lays off to Reus who blasts home. But the referee calls for VAR and replays show Philipp was offside.
30′ – After that shocking spell around the goal, Leverkusen are starting to look a little more comfortable. But Reus, Sancho and Pulisic are causing them some real problems.
26′ – Brandt, who has barely had a kick so far, tries an ambitious one from 25 yards but it flies over.
24′ – Bailey is back but there’s a bit of a limp.
22′ – We have a little break in play as Bailey falls to the ground clutching his leg. I’m not sure what happened there.
19′ – Leon Bailey gets on the ball in some space for the first time but his cross flies over the crossbar.
15 – Leverkusen are all over the place. This time Sancho pops up on the right and slips Pulisic in. Only the toe of Henrichs prevents a second.
13′ – GOAL! He’s made amends immediately! Dortmund won the ball on the halfway line and again there was no-one near Sancho. This time he finished beautifully after being found by Pulisic, curling in to the far corner Thierry Henry-style.
11′ – BIG miss from Sancho. Leverkusen, having commited numbers forward, were wide open at the back. Two passes got Sancho in one-on-one in acres of space but he never looked confident and hit it straight at Özcan.
9′ – Reus now fails to trap a pass but it runs to Götze who lashes it over from the edge of the box. Lively start.
8′ – Reus and Sancho combine well before the German’s weak effort is blocked. Leverkusen counter rapidly through Alario who bursts down the left but drags hsis shot wide.
6′ – Sokratis, of all people, gets the ball down by Leverkusen’s corner flag. He does a good impression of a man who’s pinned against the wall in an indoor five-a-side and the visitors get it away.
3′ – Dortmund having more of it in the very early stages. Marco Reus wins a free kick but it’s poorly taken. The hosts will want to test stand in keeper Ramazan Özcan early. This is his first top flight game for two years.
1′ – And we’re off and running!
18:25 – ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is sung as loud as ever at Signal Iduna Park. But all is not well among the home fans…
18:20 – Hello. And thanks for joining us for this critical clash in the race for the Champions League. After Hoffenheim’s 5-2 over Leipzig earlier on, these two sides are aware that Julian Nagelsmann’s men are breathing down their necks. Leverkusen and Dortmund have a two point lead over them but BVB travel to Hoffenheim on the last day.
The teams are in and the big news for the hosts is the absence of captain Marcel Schmelzer, who has had a torrid time of late. English teen Jadon Sancho starts for Dortmund who replace Schmelzer with Manuel Akanji. Leon Bailey returns for the visitors after his surprise omission from their German Cup semifinal starting eleven in midweek. But the Werkself are missing goalkeeper Bernd Leno for the first time in the Bundesliga this season.
