3-0 – Borussia brush aside Schalke

In front of a capacity crowd of 79,500 at Signal Iduna Park, Borussia Dortmund dominated the first half in every department. They enjoyed 57 percent possession and had 15 shots on goal to the visitors two but somehow couldn’t find the back of the net. The second half mirrored the first one, with one exception as BVB finally started to turn their chances into goals. The fans still had to wait until the 76th minute before Aubameyang broke the deadlock, with Mkhitaryan and Reus scoring the other two in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Scenario:

It was 12th against fourth. For the first time in four years, the two clubs were separated by eight places or more entering the Derby (in 2010/11 BVB were top of the Bundesliga, Schalke were 11th). Both sides went into this fixture having won four of the last 10 meetings against each other. Borussia, however, had only won one of the previous seven and two of the previous 15 home games against Schalke, respectively.

Personnel Matters

BVB were without Kampl (virus), Sokratis (muscular problem), Piszczek (ankle), Grosskreutz (thigh) and Durm (match fitness), but welcomed Bender and Kehl back into the squad after long-term injuries. Kirch started at right back, while Mkhitaryan filled the attacking midfied void left by Kampl. Schalke had to do without Kirchhoff (ankle), Matip (thigh), Giefer (groin), Fährmann (knee), Kolasinac, Goretzka (both match fitness), Draxler (hamstring), Obasi (shin) and Farfan (knee).

Tactics:

BVB set up in a 4-2-3-1 with defensive midfielders Sahin and Gündogan pulling the strings and picking out Reus and Aubameyang up front with some intelligent passes. Schalke played with a back five, with fullbacks Uchida and Fuchs pushing high whenever possible in search for numerical superiority in midfield.

The Game & Analysis:

The Black and Yellows took charge of the contest from the start and created chance after chance in the opening 20 minutes. In the fourth minute, Kagawa set up Aubameyang in the Schalke box but the Dortmund striker’s effort from 13 yards was thwarted by a superb save from Schalke’s goalkeeper Wellenreuther.

Aogo came to his goalkeeper’s rescue to deny Aubameyang an open shot on goal in the 12th minute, then Reus missed with shot from a tight angle (15’) before Kagawa, after good work from Hummels and a Neustädter blunder, went close with a lob over Wellenreuther, with the Schalke defence being able to clear the ball away from danger before it crossed the line (16’).

Borussia totally outplay Schalke

BVB were clearly on top and kept pushing forward. Reus, after brilliantly set up by Gündogan, then served Aubemeyang an open shot on goal but the Gabon international somehow managed to miss from a few yards (25’). A minute later, Wellenreuther did well to keep out a Reus effort from distance, with the Schalke goalkeeper also saving a Sahin header from the resulting corner. At that stage, Borussia had 10 shots on goal to Schalke’s one, such was their dominance in the opening 30 minutes.

And Schalke? The Royal Blues‘ only effort of note in the first half was a shot from Boateng in the 7th minute as the Black and Yellows totally outplayed their opponents, they only had to blame themselves for not turning their dominance into goals. But they were also unlucky as Reus saw a fierce shot from a corner hit the crossbar, with BVB’s No. 11 also going agonisingly close with shot from the edge of the box two minutes later.

It took Borussia about 10 minutes after the break to pick up where they left off in the first half. After going close with a shot on 52 minutes, Reus was sent through on goal four minutes later only to be denied again by a fine save from Wellerreuther, with Höwedes making a last-ditch tackle to deny Aubameyang a chance to score on the rebound.

BVB put the game out of sight

In the 63rd minute, Reus broke through on the right to set up Mkhitaryan whose’s effort from 14 yards was thwarted by Nastasic who threw himself into the shot. Two minutes later the Armenian found himself through on goal in the box, but Wellenreuther did well to make the save. The Schalke keeper was also on hand a few seconds later when he charged off his line to get to the ball ahead of the oncoming Mkhitaryan.

Borussia were now all over the place. The fans at Signal Iduna Park were on their feet, roaring their team forward. On 77 minutes, Jürgen Klopp’s men were finally rewarded for their tireless efforts when the Schalke defence was undone by a long ball from Gündogan into the box that Mkhitaryan played through to Aubameyang to prod past the outrushing Wellenreuther and into the net to put the Black and Yellows ahead!

The goal sent the BVB fans into raptures, but there was much more to come. Visibly rocked, the Schalke defence lost sight of Gündogan who made ground down the right before sending a low cross into the area for Mkhitaryan to slide home from short range to make it 2-0! Reus added a third in the 86th minute to put the game to bed when he stole the ball away from Wellenreuther to tap home from close range! What an amazing display by the Black and Yellows! And what a deserved derby!

Teams & Goals

Bundesliga, Matchday 23
BORUSSIA DORTMUND – FC SCHALKE 04 3-0 (0-0)

Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller – Kirch, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer – Sahin, Gündogan  – Mkhitaryan, Kagawa, Reus – Aubameyang
FC Schalke 04: Wellenreuther – Uchida, Höwedes, Neustädter, Nastasic, Fuchs - Aogo - Höger, Boateng - Choupo-Moting, Huntelaar
Substitutions: 76. Blaszczykowski for Kagawa, 83. Bender for Gündogan, 87. Kehl for Sahin - 64. Barnetta for Boateng
Goals: 1-0 Aubameyang (77., Mkhitaryan), 2-0 Mkhitaryan (79., Gündogan), 3-0 Reus (86.)
Corners: 9-5 (HT 4-4), Chances: 12-0 (6-0)
Referee: Zwayer (Berlin), Yellow cards: Schmelzer, Aubameyang - Höwedes, Höger
Attendance: 79,500 (sold out), Weather: sunny, 8 degrees

Prospects:

BVB will now play two games on the road. On Tuesday (3 March; kick-off: 2030 CET), the Black and Yellows face a trip to Dynamo Dresden in the DFB Cup tie before they travel to Hamburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday (7 March; 1530 CET).