Borussia Dortmund remain comfortably in second place in the Bundesliga after a 2-0 win over Ingolstadt. But despite dominating, BVB had a tough time of it and only broke the deadlock in the final quarter of an hour.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season (77', 86') in front of 81,359 fans in SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, though the Gabon international was standing in an offside position as he headed home Lukasz Piszczek's cross for the opener.

Felix Ulrich reports

The scenario:
It was second against tenth in the table, but with Ingolstadt boasting one of the league's strongest defences it was hardly a foregone conclusion. Only FC Bayern (9) had conceded fewer than FCI (18). "We might need to be patient, but I don't want to expect too much. We need to be free to react," said BVB coach Thomas Tuchel beforehand. The Black and Yellows won the first match 4-0 - FC Ingolstadt's heaviest defeat in their maiden Bundesliga campaign.

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Piszczek and Leckie go head to head in aerial battle.

Personnel matters:
In addition to Sven Bender and Nuri Sahin, Borussia Dortmund faced FC Ingolstadt without Marco Reus and Ilkay Gündogan, who had an infection. Marcel Schmelzer (muscle pain the neck) made it onto the substitutes' bench. Erik Durm replaced him on the left of defence. It was his first competitive start for BVB since 30 May 2015 (DFB Cup final against Wolfsburg). Ralph Hasenhüttl, the Schanzer coach, gave winter signing Dario Lezcano (from FC Lucerne) the nod over Kachunga. The 19-year-old Max Christiansen also made the starting eleven as set-piece specialist Pascal Groß was suspended following a fifth yellow card of the season.

Tactics:
Both teams lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, though Kagawa was positioned considerably further forward than Ginter in midfield. The pair flanked Weigl, who was in the centre as usual. Ramos played down the right of the attacking triumvirate, while Mkhitaryan lined up on the left. Ingolstadt defended high up the pitch and obstructed the BVB centre-backs' build-up play, forcing Bürki into long clearances downhill. The promoted side covered a lot of ground and were quick into the tackle, though their methods were not always consistent with the rules. There had already been eight fouls after 25 minutes.

The match and analysis:
BVB struggled against FCI from the start. The visitors were compact at the back but also worked extremely well off the ball. Hasenhüttl's team targeted Mats Hummels, who was always attacked quickly when in possession.

BVB dominant, but unable to create chances

Though the Black and Yellows were clearly dominant, they barely had any dangerous attempts on the Ingolstadt goal in the opening 45 minutes. The only two exceptions were efforts from Aubameyang, who failed to beat 'keeper Özcan following a Durm cross in the 35th minute and headed Kagawa's cross against Hübner's thigh (rather than the goal) from a narrow angle shortly before the break (43').

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Erik Durm made the starting line-up for Borussia Dortmund for the first time in a competitive match since last year's DFB Cup final.

At the other end, the Schanzer enjoyed two chances of their own: Paraguayan Lezcano first tested Bürki from long range (15'), then outpaced Hummels and lifted the ball over Bürki before being challenged by BVB's 27-year-old captain in the box (29'). Referee Guido Winkmann decided not to award the visitors a spot-kick and let play continue.

Speaking to sky, former match referee Peter Gagelmann from Bremen felt the official had made the correct call. His opinion was shared by Malte Metzelder, who played for BVB between 2003 and 2005 but spent most of his career with FC Ingolstadt and is now employed by the club as a management trainee. "Despite my allegiance, it was not a penalty kick," he said.

After the interval, the promoted outfit's defence continued to hold strong against the Bundesliga's best attack. With Borussia lacking ideas up top, Thomas Tuchel brought on Leitner and Castro in place of Kagawa and Weigl in the 55th minute, then replaced Ramos with Pulisic (68'). But there was no immediate change in fortunes.

Aubameyang hits brace

Instead, the ball ended up in the Dortmund goal after Hummels' backpass to Bürki looped over the Switzerland international goalkeeper and into the net, but it was disallowed for a foul by Lezcano (65'). The excitement then continued as Hummels headed wide of the goal (68') before Aubameyang headed home - from a clear offside position - following a great cross from Piszczek to make it 1-0 (77').

In the closing stages BVB pushed forward looking to secure victory, and created several chances. But it was not until Aubameyang scored his 20th goal of the season following a Castro pass that BVB secured all three points (86').

Prospects:
BVB's next two competitive matches will be played away from home: next Saturday (6/2 at 15:30 CET) they face Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga, before taking on VfB Stuttgart three days later in the DFB Cup quarter final (9/2 at 20:30 CET). The next home game will come against Hannover 96 on 13 February.

Teams & goals