There are certain matches that no BVB fan will ever forget. Normally it is the big finals, relegation battles or legendary derbies that stay long in the memory due to the drama they can produce, or their capacity to thrill. Sometimes, though, it is simply a good old fashioned league game. And so it was on Saturday against Hamburger SV, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang turned the encounter into one to remember. 

The Gabonese sat in the Volksparkstadion changing room grinning like a Cheshire cat after the game, surrounded by his teammates Ousmane Dembélé, Adrian Ramos and Emre Mor. In his hands, the match ball, which he always gives to his son Curtys when he bags a hat trick. And against HSV, it was actually four. "I have never managed that before", Aubameyank went on record as saying after the match. It was a special, almost magical fixture for the 27 year old, and not merely because of his four goals, three of which made for what is known as the 'lupenreiner' hat trick in Germany, whereby the player scores all three consecutively, and in one half. 

On the same level as Zorc and Lewandowski

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The week had suddenly turned into an unsettling one for the striker, who is now joint top scorer in the league, alongside Cologne's Modeste, thanks to his efforts against Hamburg. Manager Thomas Tuchel had struck him from the squad list just prior to the Champions League game against Lisbon during the week, a disciplinary measure that stoked up a fuss in the media. After Aubameyang had apologised personally to both trainer and team, he was to participate once gain in the next fixture. Thomas Tuchel thanked him: "Four goals – the certainly exceeds all expectations, even those one would have of a top striker. It was, and remains clear, that we will not be able to reach our targets without Auba's contribution."

The manager had surely anticipated a strong reaction from his striker after having discharged him on Tuesday. As Aubameyang ran to the touchline after getting the early goal to take a 1-0 lead, and jumped into his manager's arms, partly to demonstrate contrition, Tuchel whispered into his charge's ear that he should go and get two more goals. He duly responded by getting three more in total. In doing so, Aubameyang has placed himself in the illustrious company of those few players who have notched up four in one game for BVB. The last person to do so was Robert Lewandowski, in one of those other legendary and, for BVB fans, unforgettable football duels, namely, in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in 2013. The current Sporting Director, Michael Zorc, also managed this feat once, more than 28 years ago in May 1988 against Bayer 05 Uerdingen.

It is going to be a great game

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"One or two goals were perhaps due to defensive errors on HSV's part", opined Zorc after the game. Maybe, but one has to put oneself in dangerous positions in the first place, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did exactly that. He had opportunities after the fourth goal, had an excellent chance to get the fifth, and, furthermore, set up the last goal for Ousmane Dembélé. The kind of game every striker dreams about having at least once in his career, and a game which alleviates the pressure that had mounted after a less than satisfactory run of results in the Bundesliga for BVB. After more than 40 days without a win in the league, the team were finally able to pocket the three points, and the top of the table is once again within touching distance before the international break. Added to that, Dortmund have overcome the issue of Hamburger SV as 'bogey-team', a team against whom they had only won once in the last decade. That victory too, eerily, was thanks to a five goal haul. Großkreutz got one, while Blaszczykowski and Lewandowski both scored a brace in January 2012 on the Alster.

Aubameyang et al will soon have the privilege of testing themselves against Robert Lewandowski, for after the international break, the next battle is indeed against the Pole and FC Bayern Munich, a mouth-watering fixture for the masses due to its explosive nature. And even though the men from Munich lie six points ahead in the table, they certainly seem vulnerable at this moment in time, something demonstrated in the 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim on Saturday. "It is going to be a great game against Bayern. We have the opportunity to make the championship really exciting again if we get the win", said Aubameyang in excited anticipation of the match. "We must be ready for it."
Dennis-Julian Gottschlich

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