Teenager Erling Braut Haaland on Friday scored twice more off the bench as Borussia Dortmund moved up to third in the Bundesliga with a 5-1 thumping of Cologne.
Having claimed a hat-trick as a replacement on his Dortmund debut on Saturday last week to inspire a 5-3 win away at Augsburg, Haaland, 19, again showed clinical finishing.
“For Erling, it’s simply wonderful — five goals, two games, there are worse starts,” Dortmund captain Marco Reus said. “Especially here at home — that’s why we signed him.”
Photo: AFP
“That was a good step forward from us — also from me personally,” added Reus, who was criticized for missing clear chances against Augsburg.
With his team 3-1 up, Haaland came on for his first home appearance with an hour gone and 11 minutes later was on the scoreboard, slamming home the rebound of a saved Julian Brandt shot.
He then showed his speed to round Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn and tuck the ball into an empty net on 87 minutes.
Dortmund coach Lucien Favre explained why Haaland was again only a second-half replacement.
“He didn’t train in December due to injury, therefore we have to be careful with him,” Favre said. “He’s not ready to play from the start, we have a plan for him.”
The result leaves Dortmund level on 36 points with defending champions Bayern Munich and four behind leaders RB Leipzig.
Goals by Raphael Guerreiro and Marco Reus gave Dortmund a 2-0 halftime lead.
England winger Jadon Sancho grabbed a third after the break and Cologne striker Mark Uth claimed his first goal for the visitors before Haaland’s entrance.
The teenager has 33 goals in 24 games this season having netted 28 times for Salzburg before Dortmund snapped him up for 20 million euros (US$22 million).
Dortmund were ahead with less than a minute gone at Signal Iduna Park when Sancho threaded a pass through to the unmarked Guerreiro, who slotted home. It was Dortmund’s fastest goal this season.
The hosts dominated and were awarded a penalty, but it was ruled out when the video assistant referee took a look at Sebastian Bornauw’s tackle on Dortmund’s Achraf Hakimi, deciding the foul was just outside the penalty area.
Mats Hummels then clattered the woodwork with a thumping header, but Dortmund went into the break 2-0 up when Hummels’ long-range pass put Reus in behind the defense.
The Germany winger showed great timing to sweep the ball into the net on 29 minutes.
Cologne’s Jhon Cordoba hit the post with Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki beaten just before Sancho grabbed the hosts’ third.
Reus slid the ball into the path of the England winger, who slipped his marker and fired home four minutes after halftime.
With an hour played, Uth claimed his first goal for Cologne when the ball fell to him unmarked on the left.
However, the scene was set for Haaland to claim his two goals, with Cologne’s defense tiring and unable to cope with the towering teenager’s runs.
“He’s living his dream right now, we don’t want to wake him up,” Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc said.
“He’s trained well this week and is incredibly ambitious,” Zorc added. “He wants to score every goal possible in practice and gets really angry if he doesn’t take a chance. He’s got a really good mentality. That’s why we signed him.”
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