Borussia Dortmund extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to 13 points on Friday, blitzing second-placed Bayer Leverkusen with three goals in just six minutes for an impressive 3-1 away win.
Having already begun the year with a 10-point lead, Dortmund hit second-half goals in quick succession from teenager Mario Goetze and two from 22-year-old Kevin Grosskreutz to seal the win.
With such a commanding cushion, Dortmund can start dreaming of their first German title since 2002.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I have been going to watch Dortmund since 1994 and I know what it’s like to win the league title as a fan on the terraces,” Grosskreutz said. “I have been dreaming of this since I was a little boy and I’d love to hold the cup in my hands.”
Although Leverkusen rallied in the game’s final 15 minutes, Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp — who has been tipped as a future manager of English giants Liverpool — was clearly delighted with his side’s convincing away win.
“The plan was to continue to play our own style of football, which we did,” Klopp said. “The first goal settled the nerves and we weren’t comfortable until we got the third goal.”
Leverkusen goalkeeper Rene Adler had a busy evening between the posts.
Grosskreutz, who is tipped as a future Germany star, opened the scoring when he latched on to a handball by Leverkusen defender Daniel Schwaab and tapped his shot past Adler on 49 minutes.
Just four minutes later, the attacking midfielder curled his shot around Adler after Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller’s goal-kick was headed on by striker Robert Lewandowski for Grosskreutz to blast home.
Leverkusen’s misery was compounded when Grosskreutz turned provider as Goetze beat Adler for the third time from close-range on 55 minutes.
Only a superb save from Adler stopped it from being 4-0 when substitute Lucas Barrios fired in a shot from the left flank from long-range that needed a full-stretch save from the Germany national goalkeeper shortly afterwards.
With 10 minutes remaining, Leverkusen striker Steffan Kiessling pulled a goal back for the hosts when he latched on to a cross from Renato Augusto to stab the ball into the net and injure himself in a collision with the goalpost in the process. The result saw Leverkusen drop down to third place.
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