Borussia Dortmund welcomed Union Berlin, a team that had not secured a victory in their previous six matches across all competitions.
The initial half of the match was marked by VAR decisions. Niclas Füllkrug managed to open the scoring for Dortmund from a corner kick, but shortly thereafter, Robin Gosens equalized for Union Berlin from a corner of their own. Both Alex Kral and Füllkrug saw their goals disallowed due to offside after extensive VAR reviews. Union Berlin was then awarded a penalty, which Leonardo Bonucci successfully converted, marking his first Bundesliga goal.
In the second half, Dortmund seized control of the game. A long-range shot from Nico Schlotterbeck leveled the score for Dortmund, followed by a counter-attack that culminated in a goal by Julian Brandt, giving Dortmund the lead. Julian Ryerson then scored his second goal in two consecutive games, doubling Dortmund’s lead.
This victory propels Dortmund into second place in the standings, trailing league leaders VfB Stuttgart by just one point. Meanwhile, Union Berlin drops to the 13th position and remains without a win in their last seven games.
Borussia Dortmund:
Gregor Kobel – 6
Marius Wolf – 5
Mats Hummels – 7 – Another strong defensive performance from Hummels showed why he has been recalled to the German national team. However, an injury in the 73rd minute and subsequent substitution may have put this into doubt.
Nico Schlotterbeck – 8 – Schlotterbeck’s performance sent a message to Julian Nagelsmann after being excluded from the national team for Germany’s October friendlies. Kept Union’s attack quiet for the majority of the game before topping off his performance with a terrific long-range effort.
Julian Ryerson – 6
Emre Can – 6
Felix Nmecha – 6
Donyell Malen – 7
Marco Reus – 8 – Despite his age and lack of durability, Reus once again showed that he is still key for Dortmund’s attack. The 34-year-old was at the centre of most attacking moves for Dortmund and even provided an assist for Brandt’s goal.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens – 5
Niclas Füllkrug – 6
Others: Julian Brandt (7), Giovanni Reyan (6), Niklas Süle (5), Salih Özcan (-), Sebastien Haller (-)
Union Berlin:
Frederick Rønnow – 4
Danilho Doekhi – 5
Leonardo Bonucci – 5
Diogo Leite – 5
Christopher Trimmel – 6
Aïssa Laïdouni – 5
Alex Kral – N/A
Jannick Haberer – 5
Robin Gosens – 6
Kevin Behrens – 5
Sheraldo Becker – 5
Others: Lucas Tousart (5), Brenden Aaronson (6), Kevin Volland (5), David Fofana (5), Jérôme Roussillon (5)
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