Donyell Malen scored a first-half brace as Borussia Dortmund eased to a 3-0 house victory over Freiburg within the Bundesliga on Friday. Striker Niclas Fuellkrug, celebrating his thirty first birthday, laid on each objectives for the Netherlands winger, earlier than grabbing one among his personal within the dying levels. The win sends Dortmund 4 factors away from fifth-placed RB Leipzig, with the Saxons enjoying at Augsburg on Saturday. Malen, who was linked with a transfer away from Dortmund within the winter switch window, has now scored 4 objectives in his final 4 video games.

“From the start we had the right intensity and scored at the right moments,” Malen advised DAZN. “We’ve made some good steps since (the) winter (break).”

Dortmund have taken 13 factors from 5 league video games to spice up their bid for a Champions League place.

“I wished for a win for my birthday — and maybe a bit of birthday cake as well,” Fuellkrug advised DAZN.

Coach Edin Terzic might name on the providers of a number of returning first-team gamers, together with Marco Reus, Julian Brandt and Julian Ryerson, together with Englishman Jadon Sancho, who began on the bench.

In the sixteenth minute, Malen was teed up by Fuellkrug, who held up the ball together with his again to aim and located the Dutchman, who spun on the spot earlier than unleashing a rocket into the roof of the web.

Fuellkrug was once more the supplier for Dortmund’s second, holding up the ball on the counter-attack earlier than passing to Malen, who blasted throughout the face of aim and in.

The aim got here deep into first-half damage time. The match was delayed by 12 minutes because of followers throwing tennis balls onto the pitch as a part of ongoing league-wide protests towards international funding in German soccer.

“I can understand the fans, it’s their stage and they want to use it to make themselves heard,” Fuellkrug mentioned.

“But from a sporting perspective it’s not so great when you’re frequently interrupted and have to keep warm — it’s not like it’s 25 degrees at the moment.”

Fuellkrug scored a aim of his personal late within the sport, heading in a cross from Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen with three minutes remaining.

Brought on with the clock winding down, Sancho — who missed final week’s draw with Heidenheim with a muscle damage — had two possibilities to attain however fired his efforts extensive.

With 9 Bundesliga objectives up to now this marketing campaign, Malen has already equalled his complete from final season.

The loss continued seventh-placed Freiburg’s poor document in Dortmund.

They haven’t received on the Westfalenstadion since 2001, having misplaced 15 and drawn one among their previous 16 video games there.

Third-placed Stuttgart can restore the hole to Dortmund to a few factors with a win over struggling Mainz on Sunday. 

On Saturday, league leaders Bayer Leverkusen host second-placed Bayern Munich.

Xabi Alonso‘s Leverkusen, nonetheless but to lose a match after 30 video games in all competitions this yr, sit two factors forward of Bayern.

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