Borussia Dortmund battled to a deserved three points on Matchday 21 of the Bundesliga season. Thomas Tuchel's team secured a 1-0 (0-0) victory over opponents Hannover 96 and set a new club record in the process: the Black and Yellows have now won nine of their ten home matches in the current league campaign.

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reports

80,900 spectators in an almost sold-out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK watched BVB dominate a tough first half in which they failed to beat the excellent Zieler in the Hannover goal. Reus came the closest as he struck the crossbar with a free kick. After the interval Borussia upped the ante and eventually took a deserved lead through Mkhitaryan (57'), before seeing out the remainder of the match in relative comfort.

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The scenario:
It was second against bottom. BVB had won five of their previous six matches against Hannover and only failed to score once in the last 20 meetings – in a 1-0 home defeat last season. The Black and Yellows won 4-2 in this season's first clash with Hannover on Matchday 4.

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Gündogan pulled the strings in the BVB midfield once again.

Personnel matters:
Bender (back in team training) and Sahin (lack of match fitness) were still absent, while Aubameyang, who took a knock to his foot in the Cup clash with Stuttgart, was also missing. Thomas Tuchel made three changes to his starting XI, bringing in Subotic for Sokratis (bench), Castro in place of Durm (bench) and Kagawa for Aubameyang. Hannover were without Sorg (twisted knee), Andreasen (bruised bone), Benschop (knee operation), Hugo Almeida (back), Wolf (lacking match fitness after fibre tear), Schulz (gastrointestinal infection) and Szalai (fibre tear).

Tactics:
Despite the personnel changes BVB played in their usual 4-3-3 formation. Castro lined up on the left wing, Mkhitaryan, who had featured in midfield in Stuttgart, returned to the right flank and Reus spearheaded the attack. Hannover lined up a 4-1-4-1 formation, though it was not a flat midfield four as Sané (centre-right) and Bech (left) pushed slightly further forward.

The match & analysis:
The Black and Yellows took control of the match right from the very start and created their first clear-cut chance after nine minutes when Reus directed a Piszczek cross goalbound from close range. However, Zieler denied the BVB man with outstanding reflexes to keep his team in the game. Seven minutes later it was the woodwork rather than the visitors' shot-stopper that came to Hannover's rescue, as Reus' free-kick from 18 metres struck the crossbar.

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Castro replaced Durm in the starting XI and lined up on the left.

The team in second place in the table lived up to their role as favourites, creating a spate of further chances: Zieler thwarted Castro at the last minute (19') and saved another Reus free-kick from a similar position to the first (28'). Next the visitors' custodian made a comfortable save from Schmelzer's long-range effort (31'), before another attempt from the left-back from an extremely tight angle sailed narrowly past the goal (38'). Zieler then made a brilliant save from Gündogan's curling effort (44'). But despite their superiority (69 percent possession), Borussia were unable to break the deadlock before the break. With the exception of a dangerous header from Hoffmann which was saved by Bürki (42'), Hannover's attacking threat in the first half was virtually non-existent.

BVB dominant until the end

Borussia Dortmund continued in the same dominant vein once the second period got underway and came close through Gündogan after 54 minutes, though the Germany international fired narrowly over from the edge of the box. Bit by bit, however, Thomas Tuchel's XI increased the pressure on the battling Lower Saxony outfit – and finally broke the deadlock on the 57-minute-mark.

BVB's long overdue lead actually came about following a Hannover attack: Gündogan intercepted the ball and passed from his own half to Reus, who in turn found Mhitaryan. The Armenian took off down the left flank, before cutting into the centre and firing into the bottom right corner from a central position 17 metres out to make it 1-0. The Black and Yellows controlled the game cleverly thereafter and Hannover were unable to find a way back. Reus could have even doubled the hosts' advantage from a narrow angle (74') but was again denied by Zieler.

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Prospects:
Borussia Dortmund will host FC Porto in the first knockout round of the UEFA Europa League next Thursday (18 February, 19:00 CET), before travelling away to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga the following Sunday (21 February, 15:30 CET).

Teams & goals