Dortmund close in on Bayern

BORUSSIA DORTMUND’S Marco Reus (pix) scored twice in a 3-1 victory at Werder Bremen yesterday that allowed his team to close to within five points of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

Reus, back in top form after an injury-hit season start, struck twice for the second consecutive week.

Dortmund are in second place on 26 points, five behind Bayern, who dropped their first points of the season after 10 straight wins with a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday.

Germany international Reus put the visitors ahead in the ninth minute before Anthony Ujah slotted in from a goalmouth scramble to level in the 32nd.

Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels provided a sublime assist, curling the ball with the outside of his right foot to the far post for Henrikh Mkhitaryan who headed in for the lead a minute from halftime.

Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have scored at least twice more for Dortmund early in the second half but wasted golden opportunities before Reus was picked out by Mikhitaryan to fire in from a tight angle and seal their third consecutive victory in the Bundesliga.

Borussia Moenchengladbach’s sensational recovery continued with a 4-1 victory at Hertha Berlin for their sixth consecutive victory under interim coach Andre Schubert after they lost the first five matches of the competition.

Gladbach, who struck twice in two minutes with Oscar Wendt and Raffael, have climbed from last place just over a month ago to fourth on 18 points, making a permanent deal for Schubert all but inevitable.

Granit Xhaka scored Gladbach’s third from a penalty in the 54th minute with Alexander Baumjohann cutting the deficit late in the game before the visitors sealed their win with Havard Nordtveit’s shot in stoppage time.

Third-placed Schalke 04 stumbled to a 1-1 draw against promoted Ingolstadt to drop six points behind Dortmund, having won just one of their last four matches. – Reuters