Borussia Dortmund put two consecutive defeats behind them as they finally returned to winning ways on matchday 29 of the Bundesliga campaign, delivering a dominant display to overcome SC Paderborn 3-0 (0-0) on Saturday afternoon. The win saw Klopp's Black and Yellows leapfrog Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen into eighth place to reach their highest league position since matchday five, though that could all change when the Green and Whites play their game in hand on Sunday.

The 80,667 spectators crammed into a sold-out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK were initially witness to a rather sluggish encounter, with the game only sparking into life around the half-hour mark. Three chances then fell to Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan, but the attacking duo were unable to break the deadlock for BVB while Ginter and Gündogan also failed with long-range efforts. The floodgates finally opened after the break, though, as Mkhitaryan (48), Aubameyang (55) and Kagawa (80) fired the home side to victory.

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich reports

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Aubameyang put in an outstanding performance in attack.

The scenario:
It was the first match since coach Jürgen Klopp announced he would be leaving at the end of the season. And BVB really needed to get more points on the board if they wanted to finish the domestic campaign in a better position in order to - as Mats Hummels put it - "give the coach the send-off that he deserves". Following defeats to Bayern and Gladbach, Borussia had been rooted in tenth place for six matchdays. Opponents SC Paderborn had only won one of their previous five outings, although that victory came just last weekend when a 2-1 win over FC Augsburg saw the Blue and Whites end a drought of 598 minutes without a goal. Paderborn also pulled off a small surprise by holding Borussia to a 2-2 draw when the sides met before the winter break.

Personnel matters:
Right-back Erik Durm returned to the starting line-up. Elsewhere, Matthias Ginter lined up alongside Ilkay Gündogan in defensive midfield to fill in for the stricken Sebastian Kehl (broken rib) and Sven Bender (haematoma). Other absentees included Kevin Großkreutz (back pain), Marco Reus (adductor), Neven Subotic (slight protrusion of the intervertebral disc) Nuri Sahin (irritation of tendon insertion), Lukasz Piszczek (partial tear of the syndesmosis ligament) and Oliver Kirch (torn knee tendon). SC Paderborn coach Andre Breitenreiter was without Bertels (lack of match fitness), Wemmer (broken rib), Meha (torn elbow ligament) and Duksch (broken metatarsal).

Tactics:
Borussia lined up for the match in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with Blaszczykowski, Kagawa and Mkhitaryan lining up behind Aubameyang in attack. Paderborn switched from their preferred 4-1-4-1 to a 4-4-2 system with two strikers (Kachunga, Lakic), who tracked back to fulfil their defensive duties and closed down Borussia Dortmund's centre back pairing of Hummels and Sokratis in a bid to force Dortmund's build-up play out onto the flanks. They were backed up by two deep-lying banks of four.

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Jürgen Klopp cut an animated figures as he watched from the sidelines.

The game & analysis:
SC Paderborn made life tough for BVB at the outset, their well-marshalled defence restricting the Black and Yellows to just a few brief incursions into their penalty area. The game evolved into a sluggish encounter, with BVB not at their best to begin with. SCP keeper Kruse thwarted a thumping 30-metre shot from Ginter after just four minutes before Gündogan shot inches wide of the right post from around 20 metres out (12.). Yet with the exception of those few forays forward, Borussia rarely troubled Paderborn in the opening stages.

It was not until 25 minutes had passed when the match suddenly sprang into life. When Hünemeier went down in the Borussia penalty area, prompting the visitors to remonstrate and demand a penalty, BVB launched a counterattack down the right flank. The fleet-footed Aubameyang raced forwards before passing the ball into the centre. However, when Gündogan slotted the ball home from 12 metres to open the scoring, referee Brych disallowed the goal, adjudging Blaszczykowski to have fouled a Paderborn player in the build-up.

Aubameyang a key figure

Borussia Dortmund upped the ante, gradually edging closer to the Paderborn goal. Most of the home side's play went through Aubameyang, who was soon set up brilliantly by Gündogan. The striker controlled the ball with his right foot and was about to shoot with his left when Hünemeier intervened at the last minute (34.). More chances fell BVB's way as the minutes passed: Durm curled the ball in for Aubameyang to run onto, only for the striker to miss the ball by inches (35). Then Kagawa found Mkhitaryan, who immediately passed the ball in to Aubameyang. The Gabonese tried to lob the SCP custodian in a one-on-one, but Kruse got a hand to the ball (36). Then Mkhitaryan hit a shot from 12 metres out, only to see the ball fly just wide of the post (37), meaning the scores were all-square at the break.

BVB began the second period at a high tempo, in stark contrast to the sluggish start to the first half. Within seconds of the restart, another attempt from Mkhitaryan was denied by a timely intervention from Kruse. The deadlock was broken just two minutes later, though, when Kuba played a ball down the right wing for Aubameyang, who curled a cross into the six-yard box. Lopez was unable to get goalside of the onrushing Mkhitaryan, who headed in the ball from close range (48).

Paderborn buckle under the pressure

The floodgates had opened. Shortly afterwards, Ginter toe-poked the ball in to Aubameyang in the area with just Kruse to beat. And though the Paderborn shot-stopper was quick off the mark, BVB's lone frontman instinctively chipped the ball over him to double the home side's lead (55). Only three minutes later Blaszczykowski and Mkhitaryan dovetailed to set up Kuba for the third, but Kruse pulled off another excellent save to deny the Pole (58).

With 60 minutes on the clock, an undeniably dominant Borussia had had 61 per cent possession and 18 shots to the Blue and Whites' one. Aubameyang then found the net once again, only for the officials to rule the goal out after making an incorrect offside call (68). The third finally came just ten minutes later though, when Kagawa received the ball from Mkhitaryan and calmly slotted it past Kruse (80).

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Prospects:
In their second home match in the space of seven days, BVB will play host to Eintracht Frankfurt at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK next Saturday (15:30 CET) before travelling to Munich just three days later (Tuesday 28 April, 20:30 CET) to face Bayern in an all-important Cup semi-final clash.

Formations, diagrams and statistics