3-0 – BVB ease to comfortable win in Stuttgart

With 60,000 fans watching on in a sold-out Mercedes-Benz-Arena, Shinji Kagawa (21') and 17-year-old Christian Pulisic (45') set BVB on the path to victory. Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who now has 29 scorer points this season, set up both goals against the Swabians before getting on the scoresheet himself with a tap-in (56'). Shortly before the final whistle Leitner could have added a fourth but was denied by the post (87').

Felix Ulrich reports

The scenario:
Borussia Dortmund had to face Stuttgart in the league three days after their DFB Cup semi-final. BVB were unbeaten in 11 against VfB (six wins and five draws) – their longest run against any Bundesliga outfit. In a duel between the divisions' two strongest counter-attacking sides (10 goals for VfB, 11 for BVB), the Black and Yellows were looking to extend this run. "It's important for us to remain competitive. I expect us to go all out for the win and to reproduce the physical nature of our performance on Wednesday," said Thomas Tuchel. The 15th-placed hosts, on the other hand, were looking to preserve their top-flight status. VfB's approach: fight with everything and show great willpower.

Personnel matters:
Thomas Tuchel made four changes to the team that won 3-0 in Berlin: Durm, Ginter, Pulisic and Sokratis came in for Bender, Castro, Hummels and Schmelzer (bench). VfB coach Jürgen Kramny made three changes to the starting XI that lost 1-0 in Augsburg: Barba, Harnik and Rupp began in place of Kravets, Niedermeier and Sunjic (bench).

Tactics:
Both teams tried to take the direct route to goal in the first 20 minutes and thus adopted an offensive approach. BVB lined up in a 3-2-4-1 formation which saw Durm and Pulisic double up on the left flank. When VfB Stuttgart (in a 4-4-2 when without possession) attacked and switched to a 4-2-4 formation, Durm dropped back into defence and expanded the rearguard into the usual back four. After the break Pulisic switched to the right wing, Mkhitaryan shifted inwards slightly and Reus moved over to the left.

The match & analysis:
Anybody under the impression that BVB would now take their foot off the gas in the Bundesliga was grossly mistaken. BVB dominated proceedings away to VfB Stuttgart, who clearly had much more to play for. From the off the visitors looked cutting and purposeful in attack.

After 09 minutes it could have already been 1-0, with Reus firing narrowly wide of the goal from 13 metres. The ball had been deflected into his path following a Piszczek shot, but the team of match officials led by Daniel Siebert (Berlin) did not notice the midfielder was clearly in an offside position.

Ten minutes later BVB eventually broke the deadlock. From the left Mkhitaryan found Kagawa at the far post – 1-0 (21'). It was the Japan international's eighth goal of the season and his fourth in the last six Bundesliga matches. VfB did not seem shocked by the goal, but they continued to look much, much slower than BVB, with most of the play taking place in midfield. The best chance for the hosts fell to Didavi, who shot from 22 metres out (35') – whether it could be described as a real chance, however, is debatable.

Christian Pulisic sets a Bundesliga record

It did not change the fact that BVB had everything under control, with around 60 percent possession, 11:6 shots and a 51% tackle win rate in the first half. Reus could have made it 2-0 in the 25th minute, but Tyton saved and then used his fist to deny Pulisic a header from the follow-up. The Pole gave another demonstration of his goalkeeping skills after Ramos' shot from 10 metres, parrying it over the bar (37').

Shortly before the break the Black and Yellows were rewarded with a second. Mkhitaryan shot from a central position 17 metres out and with Tyton unable to keep hold of the ball, Pulisic pounced to double the lead – 2-0 (45'). It was the American youngster's second goal in the space of just seven days. At the age of 17 years, seven months and five days, Pulisic is therefore the youngest player in Bundesliga history to have scored two goals.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan with scorer points 27, 28 and 29

After the break it took only 11 minutes for the visitors to round off the victory. Kagawa sprinted down the left of the penalty area before chipping the ball towards the far post and, although Ramos was unable to beat Tyton with a header, Mkhitaryan was on hand to convert the rebound – 3-0 (45'). The Armenian had thus been involved in all of the goals in Stuttgart until that point. The 27-year-old's tally is now at 11 goals and 18 assists – only Bayern's Robert Lewandowski (31) has been involved in more goals.

Though VfB continued to attack, they were unable to find the gap in Dortmund's defence. Often a Black and Yellow blocked an attempt to pass or shoot, such as Harnik's (72'), which was dealt with by Ginter. And if the ball did make it through to the BVB goal, then Bürki was on hand, such as in the case of Niedermeier's header (73').

In the 76th minute Thomas Tuchel made a double change. Reus, who wore the captain's armband in Stuttgart, and Pulisic came off for Leitner and Schmelzer (76'). The closing stages contained few scenes of note. The hosts were resigned to their ninth home defeat of the season and were simply trying not to concede a fourth. And the Black and Yellows were merciful, letting the ball and their opponents do the work and looking as if they wanted to save energy.

With 09 minutes to go Sahin came on for Weigl to make his eighth appearance. The last highlight was Leitner's shot against the post (87'). For BVB, the 3-0 win was the third competitive victory against Stuttgart this season (10:2 goals).

Prospects:
In a week BVB will host VfL Wolfsburg in their penultimate home game of the season (Sa., 15:30 CET). They will then travel to Eintracht Frankfurt on 7 May (15:30 CET).

Teams & goals