Impressive Dortmund lay siege to Volkspark in 3-0 win over Hamburg

Boris Rupert reporting from Hamburg

The 55,962 spectators at a slightly below-capacity Volksparkstadion saw a high-quality Bundesliga encounter in which a dominant but initially somewhat wasteful Borussia Dortmund only led by a solitary goal, scored by Kagawa, at the interval. Aubameyang set the Black & Yellows on the path to victory when he added a second on the hour mark, before Pulisic popped up with BVB's 3,000th Bundesliga goal in the 79th minute to wrap up the club's 750th victory in the top flight.

The scenario:  
Eighth-placed Hamburg had followed up two victories in their opening two matches with successive 2-0 defeats by Leipzig and Hannover, while top-of-the-table BVB boasted a points haul of ten out of a possible 12 and a goal difference of 10-0. The head-to-head record between the sides was even ahead of their 101st Bundesliga meeting, with 36 victories and 179 goals apiece.

Personnel matters:  
Hamburg were without five players (Kostic, Müller, van Drongelen, Hunt and Thoelke), while Dortmund had nine unavailable (Götze, Toljan, Schmelzer, Bartra, Reus, Guerreiro, Schürrle, Rode and Durm). The visitors made two changes to the team that thrashed Köln by a 5-0 scoreline on Sunday evening, with Kagawa and Pulisic replacing Dahoud and Philipp in the starting line-up. Bruun Larsen was also included in the 18-man squad.

Tactics: 
Hamburg lined up in a 3-4-3 formation without the ball and attempted to quickly close down the build-up and link-up play employed by Borussia Dortmund, who took to the field in their preferred 4-3-3 system. The Red Shorts were BVB's first opponents this season who did not solely sit back, instead taking the game to their opponents. Going forward, HSV switched to a 4-2-3-1 in which Salihovic and Holtby regularly swapped positions. Without possession, BVB switched to a 4-2-3-1.

The match & analysis:
Hamburg's approach of taking the game to Dortmund rather than sitting back made it an attractive, fast-paced and open encounter from the outset. An eighth-minute counter-attack by the Black & Yellows culminated in Aubameyang picking out Pulisic level with the penalty spot, the American shifting one way then the other before dragging a right-footed shot wide of the left post. The second gilt-edged opportunity came on the quarter-hour mark when Yarmolenko's cross was glanced onto the upright by Aubameyang, before Piszczek went close six minutes later. The ball landed at the feet of the Poland international following a corner-kick, but HSV shot-stopper Mathenia was on hand to avert the danger.

By this point, Borussia Dortmund had equalled a club record of not conceding a goal in the first 381 minutes of a league campaign.

The highest-scoring pairing in Bundesliga history produced its 359th goal shortly afterwards when a Yarmolenko free-kick from the right flank was flicked on by Toprak to Kagawa, who was quick to react and poked it home (24). The goal, which was Borussia's fourth of the season from a set-piece, prompted a chorus of "Who's going to win the league?" from the 5,000 travelling fans.

Most of Hamburg's play came down the right flank – though their crosses lacked accuracy – but one of their most dangerous first-half moments came from an attack down the left, with Hahn forcing Bürki into a spectacular save when he headed a Holtby cross goalbound in the 31st minute.

BVB only 1-0 up at the break despite spate of chances

BVB, who were on a ten-match (seven wins, three draws) unbeaten run in the Bundesliga that started last season, created their next chance when Yarmolenko – one of the standout performers – picked out the run of Pulisic, whose shot was saved by Mathenia (33). A Mavraj header from a Sahin cross in the 35th minute almost beat his own keeper, before Yarmolenko hammered the ball narrowly over the frame of the goal from 17 metres following a lightning-quick counter four mintues later. By half-time, BVB had had nine shots and seven chances – but only led by a solitary goal.

The match continued in largely the same vein after the restart. HSV battled on, signalling their intent when Mavraj blasted into the side-netting following a corner in the 54th minute. BVB were initially content to sit back and counter, though they lacked accuracy and it wasn't until the 63rd minute, when Pulisic fed Yarmolenko, that the breakthrough came. The Ukraine international burst into the penalty area from the right and directed an effort towards the back post, where Aubameyang had escaped from marker Diekmeier and was left with the simplest of tap-ins. The Black & Yellows finally had their long-overdue and highly-deserved second goal.

Pulisic scores BVB's 3,000th league goal

Hamburg, usually such a tough opponent to face at home, were not yet ready to accept defeat and hit the side-netting through Hahn in the 73rd minute, though Bürki had it covered. Dortmund, who brought off Kagawa and Yarmolenko to be replaced by Dahoud and Philipp in the 66th minute, almost wrapped up the win in the 76th minute when an excellent Sahin through-ball found Aubameyang in space. But with only Mathenia to beat, the forward curled it wide of the mark.

However, BVB's 3,000th Bundesliga goal finally came with 11 minutes to go when Dahoud picked out Pulisic, who burst into the box and thundered an effort inside the far post to make it 3-0.

Prospects: 
BVB will welcome Borussia Mönchengladbach to Signal Iduna Park, which is not yet sold out, on Saturday evening (18:30 CET). Around 600 seated tickets will be available for purchase from the away ticket office from 16:00 CET.

Teams & goals