A magic goal from captain Marco Reus and two goals from returnees Erling Haaland brought Borussia Dortmund to the top of the Bundesliga for at least one day.
With a 3-1 (1-0) win over FSV Mainz, coach Marco Rose's team overtook the two leading teams from Munich and Leverkusen, who face each other at the league summit on Sunday.
Dortmund - A remarkable shot from 15 meters from Reus (3rd minute) in the corner of the goal, a converted hand penalty by Haaland (54th) and a last-minute hit by the Norwegian (90th + 4) were for BVB in front of 63,812 spectators in Signal Iduna Park the reward for a concentrated performance that encourages the Champions League game on Tuesday at Ajax Amsterdam.
In contrast, Mainz suffered the third defeat in a row.
Jonathan Burkardt's late goal (87th) couldn't change that either.
The return of Haaland, who missed the last three games against Mönchengladbach (0: 1), Sporting Lisbon (1: 0) and FC Augsburg (2: 1) due to a thigh contusion, should spur Borussia’s game.
“He really wanted to play, but he's not yet at 100 percent,” commented coach Rose before the game.
But even without the direct help of Haaland, Borussia got off to a tailor-made start.
The first shot on the opposing goal gave the lead.
With the help of Mainz, a cross from Thomas Meunier found its way to captain Reus, who carried the ball in a remarkable manner from 15 meters into the right corner of the goal.
The best Bundesliga defense so far was defeated after just three minutes.
Despite the early deficit, the guests continued to rely on their defensive tactics.
That turned out to be a smart move.
At least they managed to calm the game and stop BVB's attack.
Only with a shot by Reus (21st) from 18 meters just next to the goal after a pass from Haaland (21st) did the Rose team approach another goal - and that with ball possession of almost 80 percent for BVB in the 1st half.
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It was only a few seconds before the break that the FSV coverage began to falter again.
First goalkeeper Robin Zentner saved against Haaland in dire straits, then defender Moussa Niakhaté cleared just before the goal line.
The intensive work backwards prevented the Mainz team from doing something for the offensive game themselves.
BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel remained almost unemployed until the break because all counter attempts by the guests were unsuccessful.
The second half began as successfully for BVB as the first. After a handball by Silvan Widmer, referee Daniel Schlager decided on a penalty with the help of the video referee. And Haaland did not let this chance of his eighth goal of the season be taken away.
The resistance of the strong Mainz team was not yet extinguished.
Just a few minutes after the 2-0 draw, Karim Onisiwo (62nd) missed the chance to score when he lifted the ball free not only over BVB keeper Kobel, but also over the goal.
In the following minutes, the FSV looked for their chance, but was rewarded too late with the goal of substitute Burkardt.
So BVB has to wait for the first Bundesliga game without conceding a goal.
Haaland then eliminated all doubts about the well-deserved victory of Borussia with his goal in stoppage time.
dpa
