BVB roars past Freiburg to put pressure on Bayern
Erling Haaland and Thomas Meunier both scored braces as Borussia Dortmund made a big statement against Freiburg, winning 5-1 to reduce the gap to the top of the table to three points.
After a dramatic fightback to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 last time out, Dortmund opted for an unchanged side for the first time this season, and Marco Rose's decision more than paid off.
Haaland had a hand in all three goals against the Eagles last weekend, and the Norwegian sensation looked just as electric in the early stages against Freiburg when he flashed a teasing centre from the right into the danger zone, Marco Reus and Jude Bellingham just failing to connect.
The visitors had boasted an away record second only to Bayern Munich's this term, but they were second-best throughout the opening half at Signal Iduna Park and found themselves behind to a couple of identical set-piece goals prior to the half-hour mark, Julian Brandt twice providing the corners for Meunier to head in.
With Dortmund purring, Haaland added another before the break after Bellingham snatched possession and calmly played in his team-mate.
Changes prior to the restart finally saw Freiburg begin to show flashes of its excellent first-half of the season, which has it sitting fourth on the Bundesliga table.
Substitutes Kevin Schade and Ermedin Demirovic brought some much-needed energy to the visitors' attack, the latter pulling a goal back with a close-range finish after goalkeeper Gregor Kobel could only parry Roland Sallai's shot.
Lucas Holer should have done more with Christian Gunter's dangerous free-kick as Freiburg's mini-revival continued, but the hosts soon swung proceedings back their way.
They were out of sight when Haaland swept home a fine Dahoud assist, and the midfielder, who curled home the winner against Frankfurt in last week's dramatic comeback, added another touch of magic with a tasty finish to complete a five-star display from the home side.
Bayern Munich will look to re-establish a six-point lead at the top of the table against sixth placed Cologne on Sunday (AEDT), but with a side severely depleted by injury and COVID-19 cases, plus a shock defeat to Borussia Moenchengladbach last time out, three points for the champion is by no means guaranteed.
