The Borussia Dortmund U23s have ended their winless run in impressive fashion. The Black & Yellows claimed a highly deserved 5-0 victory against bottom club VfB Lübeck. The win saw BVB equal their club record for most points in a 3. Liga season (49 points from the 2021/22 campaign).

The scenario: Borussia Dortmund's U23s achieved something of a success on the last matchday, picking up their first point after a run of five consecutive defeats in a 1-1 draw with Ingolstadt. The Black & Yellows, who had dropped down to 12th place in the table, were aiming to get back to winning ways and finally confirm their survival against basement boys Lübeck. By contrast, things were looking very bleak for the Northern Germans prior to the clash with BVB. After only one season in the 3. Liga, their relegation was all-but sealed. VfB were 10 points adrift of safety heading into the final five matches and also had by far the worst goal difference of all the relegation candidates.

Personnel matters: BVB coach Jan Zimmermann saw no reason to make any changes after the draw with Ingolstadt. The 44-year-old kept faith with the same starting line-up as the previous week. That meant captain Franz Pfanne made his 101st third-tier appearance in a BVB shirt and drew level with record-holder Marc Hornschuh. The veteran lined up alongside Antonios Papadopoulos in central defence. Top-scorer Ole Pohlmann, Paul-Philipp Besong, Rodney Elongo-Yombo and Julian Hettwer were given the attacking responsibilities.

The match & analysis: Borussia Dortmund got off to the perfect start in front of 5,555 spectators at the Lohmühle and took an early lead with their first chance: Ole Pohlmann switched the play to the left flank. Elongo-Yombo did not actually make optimal contact with the ball on the edge of the box, but the forward held onto possession, cut into the middle and fired into the net (11). The hosts registered their first big chance shortly after falling behind, but the left-footed effort from Jan-Marc Schneider zipped narrowly wide of shot-stopper Marcel Lotka's goal.

Dortmund were significantly more clinical and upped their lead to 2-0 with their second chance in the 22nd minute. Ayman Azhil bypassed the home team's entire defence with a pass from deep. Elongo-Yombo ran clean through on goal and clinically converted into the right corner from eight metres out. They were the forward's eighth and ninth goals of the season.

BVB clearly dominated proceedings in the period that followed. The Black & Yellows moved the ball about well within their own ranks and looked for opportunities to counter quickly. The result was a third goal, which came only 10 minutes later. It had to be Pfanne who was on hand following a corner to score his first goal of the season. The centre-back tapped a loose ball over the line with the outside of his right foot to make it 3-0.

Lübeck initially fared slightly better following the interval. However, they were lacking the ideas and means in attack against a BVB team that defended with concentration. To make matters worse, the home team also shot themselves in the foot. Captain Ulrich Taffertshofer was sent off for a second bookable offence for repeated foul play (58). Dortmund's captain had also been booked a matter of minutes earlier. Pfanne will now miss the home game against Aue through suspension following his 10th yellow card of the season. That means the 29-year-old can become the BVB reserve's outright record appearance-maker on Matchday 36 at the earliest.

With numerical superiority on their side, BVB pushed for the fourth goal but were initially limited to half-chances for Besong (67) and Pohlmann (70). But Zimmermann's mature team stayed patient – and were rewarded with the fourth goal with a quarter-hour left. Besong fired the ball into the left corner from 23 metres out. VfB goalkeeper Klewin got his fingertips to the ball but could not prevent it from going in. And things got even better for BVB: Bjarne Pudel extended the advantage to 5-0 within four minutes of coming on as a substitute (84).

While BVB finally confirmed their survival in the division with a comfortable win and equalled their club points record for a 3. Liga season (49 points from the 2021/22 campaign), Lübeck's adventure in the third tier could be over by Sunday. For that to happen, Waldhof Mannheim must beat Rot-Weiss Essen at home.

Coach Jan Zimmermann: "I'm very, very satisfied today and am totally delighted for the lads. I think that we did a lot right today. We kept a clean sheet, hardly gave away set-pieces, defended consistently until the end and saw through our attacks in a targeted manner. It was a very mature performance. It's nice for the lads that they vindicated their performances from recent weeks and finally converted them into goals too. The clear victory shows that there is great potential in our team."

Outlook: The U23s will play host to Erzgebirge Aue on Saturday 27 April. Kick-off at Stadion Rote Erde will be at 14:00 CEST. The Black & Yellows lost the reverse fixture 2-0.

Goals: 0-1 Elongo-Yombo (11), 0-2 Elongo-Yombo (22), 0-3 Pfanne (33), 0-4 Besong (76), 0-5 Pudel (85)

Red card: Taffertshofer (Lübeck, 58)

U23s: Lotka – Göbel, Pfanne, Papadopoulos, Bueno (Pudel, 80) – Azhil (Michel, 80), Pohlmann, Roggow (Lütke-Frie, 87) – Hettwer, Besong (Butler, 80), Elongo-Yombo (Otuali, 87)

Phillip Oldenburg