Borussia Dortmund earned a 1-0 win over TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Friday to climb off the bottom of the Bundesliga and escape the bottom three.
Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan scored Dortmund’s first-half winner which lifted them to 14th place ahead of the weekend’s other matches.
It was a much more polished performance from Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund, who have already qualified for the round-of-16 of the UEFA Champions League, but have been in poor form domestically.
Photo: Reuters
The victory offers last season’s runners-up some respite after losing seven of their past 10 league games.
It was only their fourth win in the league this season, 14 games into the campaign.
There was more good news for Borussia as their captain, Germany international centerback Mats Hummels, made his return after missing the previous five games with a sprained ankle. Hummels marked his return with a key clearing header at the start of the second half.
The defeat leaves Hoffenheim still seventh in the table, but Markus Gisdol’s side can have no complaints after managing just six shots at goal compared with Dortmund’s 19.
Klopp sprang a surprise before kickoff when he opted for Australian Mitchell Langerak over Germany’s Roman Weidenfeller in goal.
The Socceroos goalkeeper has been used as an understudy since joining Dortmund in 2010 and only previously played when World Cup-winner Weidenfeller had been either injured or rested, but with Dortmund having dropped to the bottom of the Bundesliga Klopp opted to give Langerak only his 12th appearance in the German top flight.
Weidenfeller was left on the bench along with former Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa.
Klopp had described the Hoffenheim clash as “High Noon” for his team as they looked to bounce back from a dire run of league results and his side were quickest on the draw.
Gundogan, who only recently returned from a long-term back injury, scored his first goal since the 2012-2013 UEFA Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich when he headed home Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s cross after just 17 minutes.
Gabon winger Aubameyang was unlucky not to get on the score sheet himself as he had two goals disallowed for marginal offside calls and then hit the post in the second half.
Dortmund’s win saw Hamburg SV, who are to host FSV Mainz 05 today, drop to the bottom of the table.
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