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Borussia Dortmund took a huge leap towards their first Bundesliga title since 2012 after defeating FC Augsburg 3-0 at the WWK Arena to move two points clear at the top of the table.
BVB knew before a ball was kicked that a win would put them two points clear of their rivals in the title race with just one game remaining.
The fixture was also important for the home side, as they came into it just three points clear of the relegation play-off place.
Despite Dortmund struggling against Augsburg at this venue in previous seasons, the away side played the first half with purpose, and created many chances to take the lead.
With 38 minutes on the clock, however, everything changed as Augsburg centre-back Felix Uduokhai was shown a straight red card for taking down Donyell Malen whilst the forward was in a clear goalscoring opportunity. After hitting the woodwork on two separate occasions, BVB finally got the lead they craved in the 58th minute, as Sebastien Haller lashed home a low strike into the far corner past Tomas Koubek.
With six minutes to play Dortmund had another big opening as Malen advanced in on goal, but his close-range effort could only be parried by Koubek. Luckily for BVB, Haller was there to pounce on the rebound and slotted the ball home to double his side’s advantage. Julian Brandt put icing on the cake with a third in injury time to seal the victory. A win next week for Dortmund in their final game of the season at home against Mainz would see them regain the Meisterschale for the first time in 11 years.
TALKING POINT - DORTMUND MAKE MOST OF BAYERN’S SLIP AND NOW ONE WIN FROM GLORY
Going into the extended break for the 2022 World Cup, Dortmund sat in sixth place in the Bundesliga table and nine points behind Bayern Munich. Fast forward six months, and Die Schwartzgelben now have a golden opportunity to reclaim the title that has been out of their grasp since the days of when a famous manager called Jurgen Klopp graced the touchline at the Westfalenstadion.
The 2022-23 season has been one of twists and turns, and coming into this 32nd matchday of the campaign, Edin Terzic and his players knew that to stand a chance at winning the league, they needed Bayern to drop points. Their wish was granted on Saturday night by Leipzig, but the team still had it all to do against an Augsburg outfit that can be categorised as a 'bogey' team in recent years for BVB. Dortmund had won just one of their last four away games against Augsburg coming into the game.
However, in truth, that hoodoo did not hang over their heads. Dortmund were by far the better side, and by half-time had amassed 16 shots and an expected goals (xG) output of over 2.4 despite not breaking the deadlock.
That all changed in the second half, and BVB made their man advantage count and ran away with the game. It is now all down to next week against Bo Svensson's mid-table Mainz side, a team Dortmund have not lost to since June 2020 - a run of five matches without defeat
The 28-year-old forward has been in top form recently for his club, and this match was no exception as he notched a brace to take his tally for the season in all competitions to nine.
Haller was there to provide that focal point in the box and showed he knew to be at the right place at the right time to capitalise. In total, Haller completed 81% of his passes, made two successful dribbles, had three shots on target and made one successful tackle.
After what the Ivory Coast international has been through with his health in recent years, it would be fitting if the goals he scored in this match are able to play a part in seeing Dortmund over the line next weekend.
Source: eurosport.com
