Borussia Dortmund kept the pressure on Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga title race after Sebastien Haller and Donyell Malen starred in a 5-2 thrashing of Borussia Monchengladbach.
Bayern’s 6-0 rout of Schalke sent the champions four points clear at the top prior to Saturday’s kick-off at Signal Iduna Park, where Dortmund soon sliced that advantage to one again.
Edin Terzic’s hosts surged into a 4-0 lead inside 32 minutes as Malen opened the scoring and twice teed up Haller, with Jude Bellingham also on target from the penalty spot.
Ramy Bensebaini pulled one back with a 75th-minute penalty and substitute Lars Stindl also struck for Gladbach, but Giovanni Reyna made sure it was an emphatic Dortmund victory with a stoppage-time strike.
Name a better duo. pic.twitter.com/fGuLBT6P3K
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) May 13, 2023
Dortmund needed only five minutes to open the scoring as Malen headed home from point-blank range after Haller’s deflected strike left Jan Olschowsky stranded.
A fine Gregor Kobel stop against Bensebaini denied Gladbach an immediate response, with that save proving vital as Dortmund struck a double blow soon after.
Bellingham squirmed an unconvincing penalty past Olschowsky after Florian Neuhaus had needlessly felled Haller, who added a third just two minutes later when flicking Malen’s low cross into the bottom-left corner.
Another right-wing centre from Malen brought Haller’s second as the Dortmund forward volleyed emphatically into the top-right corner.
A stretching Olschowsky thwarted a fizzing Bellingham drive after the interval.
Bensebaini reduced the deficit with a penalty after a Reyna foul, before Stindl whipped into the bottom-right corner for another consolation goal with five minutes left.
But the Gladbach fightback arrived too late and it was Reyna who had the last word when he tapped home a late Dortmund fifth from an Olschowsky mistake.
What does it mean? Dortmund remain in the hunt
Bayern will remain buoyed by the fact the last time the Bundesliga title race was this close after 31 matchdays, the Bavarian giants ousted Wolfsburg to league glory 14 years ago.
But Dortmund continue to hold their end of the deal in the battle for German top-flight glory, pushing Thomas Tuchel’s side all the way after their 17th win in 18 competitive home games against Gladbach.
Home form has been key for Terzic’s side this season, too, with no team in Europe’s top five leagues scoring more goals on their own soil than Dortmund’s 53 in 2023.
Marvellous Malen
Malen may have turned provider in a delightful display of selfless creativity against Gladbach but his rich vein of scoring form also continued.
The Dortmund forward has scored eight goals in his last eight league matches, while he has found the net in each of his last six home Bundesliga outings.
13 – Donyell Malen was directly involved in 13 goals in the second half of this Bundesliga season (9 goals, 4 assists), more than any other player. Against Gladbach, he was directly involved in three goals in a BL game for the first time. High-flyer. #BVBBMG pic.twitter.com/1gbH4iAfrA
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) May 13, 2023
Grim Gladbach struggle on road again
A trip to Dortmund was always likely to prove a troublesome task, given Terzic’s men had won a club-record 10 home league matches in a row before this visit.
The nature of Gladbach’s crumbling came as no surprise as well, with Daniel Farke’s side having now just won one of their last 16 top-flight away games this season (D6 L9).
What’s next?
Dortmund visit Augsburg on Sunday May 21, which is also when Gladbach travel to Bayer Leverkusen.
