Borussia Dortmund won for the fifth time this term as they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 6-1 (3-0) on Matchday 6 to cement their position at the top of the Bundesliga table. A Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hat-trick, a Maximilian Philipp brace and a goal from Julian Weigl secured the three points for the Black & Yellows.

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Back in action: Julian Weigl

Boris Rupert reporting from Signal Iduna Park

The 81,360 spectators at a sold-out Signal Iduna Park witnessed a masterclass from BVB, who finally broke down Gladbach's resolute rearguard when Philipp volleyed home in the 28th minute. The goal opened the floodgates for the Black & Yellows, with Philipp adding a second 10 minutes later and Aubameyang increasing the lead to 4-0 thanks to a brace either side of the interval. The Gabon foward completed his hat-trick when he burst through on the hour mark, before Stindl deservedly pulled a goal back for the Foals to end Dortmund's long run without conceding. Bürki had made four outstanding saves up until that point. Weigl rounded off the scoring with a spectacular strike in the 79th minute to make it 6-1.

The scenario:  
It was league leaders Dortmund, who were unbeaten in 11 games stretching back into last season, versus seventh-placed Gladbach, who had only lost one of their previous nine. BVB had won five of the previous six meetings between the sides and had the better head-to-head record.

Personnel matters:  
Both coaches had a number of injury absentees to contend with. The hosts were without Schmelzer, Reus, Guerreiro, Schürrle, Rode and Durm, while the visitors were missing Sommer, Doucouré, Benes, Grifo, Strobl, Traoré and Drmic. Peter Bosz made five changes to the team that had beaten Hamburg 3-0 at the Volksparkstadion 68 hours earlier, bringing in Toljan, Weigl, Dahoud, Götze and Philipp to replace Zagadou, Sahin, Castro, Kagawa and Yarmolenko in the starting line-up as the Black & Yellows prepared for their fifth game in 15 days. Weigl was making his first start following a four-month injury layoff.

Tactics: 
Gladbach lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with a focus on quick switch-play via Hazard, Raffael or Stindl, who frequently switched positions. BVB, meanwhile, lined up in their 4-3-3 system, with Götze occupying the position on the right side of the midfield three.

The match & analysis:
The Black & Yellows, who had won their previous four home games and went into this one on the back of a 40-match unbeaten run at Signal Iduna Park, made a lively and focused start. They denied their opponents the opportunity to launch fast or controlled attacks when they lost the ball, winning possession back quickly and pressing Gladbach back into their own half. But there were still occasional moments of danger: in the 10th minute, for example, when Hazard capitalised on Weigl's misplaced pass and beat Toprak, but was thwarted by Bürki with a shot from inside the box. 

BVB with 85 percent possession in the opening 20 minutes

The Black & Yellows enjoyed 85 percent possession in the opening 20 minutes, but the Bundesliga's best attack (13 goals by that point) only threatened on one occasion in that period: in the 19th minute, the ball landed at Sokratis' feet after Weigl had beaten Raffael in an aerial battle on the edge of the penalty area, but the Greek international's shot was saved by Sippel.

In the 25th minute, Toprak launched a long ball into the penalty area which was flicked on by Götze towards Aubameyang. The Gabon international shot from six metres out but Gladbach shot-stopper Sippel was quick off the mark and pulled off a save to turn it behind for a corner. From the ensuing corner there was another dangerous flick-on, but this time Aubameyang's shot from the edge of the six-yard box hit the outside of the post (26).

Philipp breaks through solid Gladbach defence

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But Borussia Dortmund's fifth shot – and their 101st of the season; no other team has reached triple figures yet – found the mark! Weigl played the ball down the right to Aubameyang, whose cross was curled into the far corner with an artistic and technically skilful volley by Philipp in the 27th minute, to put the Black & Yellows into a highly-deserved lead. It was very similar to the opener against Köln a week ago, though on that occasion Philipp scored with his head.

And when he scores, he scores twice! The second came when Dahoud intercepted a misplaced pass by Gladbach's Ginter ten minutes later and fed Toljan, who raced into the box down the left and cut it back towards the penalty spot for Philipp to drill the ball into the top corner with his left foot.

Bürki twice put to the test

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It was a mature display from the league leaders, who were carried by the crowd, but Gladbach consistently looked dangerous whenever they got a sniff of goal. Bürki made a strong save against Stindl (41) and then brilliantly denied Hazard (43). Seconds before the latter effort, Aubameyang had hit the post again with a header (43).

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Dortmund responded to Hazard's gilt-edged opportunity to make it 2-1 by extending their lead at the other end. Sokratis played a perfectly timed through-ball into the box and Philipp squared it to Aubameyang, who picked out the gap between Ginter and the back post to slot home on the stroke of half-time. At the interval, Signal Iduna Park was shaking after an opening 45 minutes that was intense and furious in equal measure.

Three minutes after the restart Götze crossed a free-kick into the middle towards Aubameyang, who hit the woodwork for the third time but then reacted quicker than Kramer and converted the rebound to make it 4-0 to the hosts. It was Borussia Dortmund's fifth goal of the season from a dead-ball, and their 17th in total!

Goal number 18 came in the 62nd minute when Dahoud played a long ball to Aubameyang, who danced around Vestergaard and Sippel before firing home the fifth from a narrow angle. Four minutes later Gladbach converted their sixth chance of the night through Stindl, with Hazard setting up the goal after breaking through down the right.

Aubameyang nets 17-minute hat-trick 

Gladbach, who had only lost two of their previous 17 away matches in all competitions, more than deserved the goal. Shortly beforehand, Zakaria had fired an effort narrowly wide (54) and Bürki had made another strong save to deny Hazard (57).

Weigl then celebrated his comeback by scoring a dream goal, the 22-year-old controlling Hofmann's headed clearance with his right thigh and drilling the ball into the top right corner from more than 20 metres to round off the scoring.

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Prospects:  
Next on the agenda for Borussia Dortmund is a UEFA Champions League home game against Real Madrid on Tuesday (20:45 CET). The fixture pile-up of seven matches in 22 days ends next Saturday (15:30 CET) with a trip to Augsburg.

Teams & goals