Dortmund breeze past Mainz to keep pressure on Bayern
Julian Ryerson recorded three assists in a first-half rout as Borussia Dortmund beat Mainz 05 4-0 to move closer to leaders Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund moved within touching distance of Bayern Munich at the Bundesliga summit after they defeated Mainz 05 4-0 on Friday.
A brace from Serhou Guirassy and a point-blank header from Maximilian Beier, all of which were assisted by Julian Ryerson before half-time, sent Dortmund on their way to victory at Signal Iduna Park as they got within three points behind Bayern, who face Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Dortmund's first goal came after just 10 minutes, with Guirassy rising highest to connect with Ryerson's whipped free-kick to send it beyond the reach of Daniel Batz.
And it was 2-0 just five minutes later. Ryerson picked the ball up on the right wing and sent in a looping cross to the far post, where Beier was on hand to head home.
Silas Mvumpa missed a huge chance to halve the deficit when he curled past the post after being played through on goal, and he was made to rue that mistake when Guirassy headed in from Ryerson's corner shortly before the break.
Mainz skipper Silvan Widmer thought he pulled a goal back for his side, only to see his finish ruled out by the offside flag, while Guirassy went close to leaving with the match ball, but his header from yet another Ryerson delivery went wide of the left post.
Dortmund did score a fourth in the 84th minute as Dominik Kohr turned the ball into his own net after Ramy Bensebaini flicked Ryerson's corner toward the far post.
Data Debrief: Crossing masterclass from Ryerson
Ryerson is the first Dortmund player since detailed data collection began in 2004-05 to register three assists in the first half of a Bundesliga match.
The marauding wing-back created four chances in total, the most in the match, while he also registered 16 crosses, more than the entire Mainz team combined (10).
Mainz certainly had their chances, but Dortmund found their clinical touch when they needed it the most. Overall, they accumulated 1.74 expected goals (xG) from 14 shots to Mainz's 1.43 from nine attempts.
