Borussia Dortmund scored three goals in a blistering nine-minute spell before halftime to secure a vital 3-2 comeback victory over rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday, April 20th, keeping their slim hopes of a top-four Bundesliga finish alive.
Despite dominating possession early on, Dortmund fell behind against the run of play when Gladbach defender Ko Itakura scored in the 24th minute. The hosts suffered another setback when forward Maximilian Beier went off injured in the 35th minute, replaced by Carney Chukwuemeka.
However, Chukwuemeka’s introduction proved pivotal, injecting pace and urgency into Dortmund’s attack. In the 41st minute, Serhou Guirassy drilled home an equalizer after being set up by Pascal Groß.
Just three minutes later, Felix Nmecha slotted Dortmund into the lead. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Daniel Svensson headed in on the rebound after a shot was saved, completing a stunning turnaround and giving Dortmund a 3-1 lead at the break.
Gladbach pulled a goal back in the 56th minute through a Kevin Stöger penalty after Tim Kleindienst was fouled by Nmecha, setting up a tense final half-hour. Dortmund, however, managed the game effectively to hold on for their third league win in four matches.
“It was important that we beat a strong Gladbach team,” said Dortmund coach Niko Kovač. “We have a good development but we have to win the next game… after the game against Barcelona and Bayern it was another tough game but we gave it all and earned the three points through hard work.”
The victory lifts Dortmund to seventh place with 45 points, closing the gap to fourth-placed RB Leipzig (who occupy the final automatic Champions League qualification spot) to four points with four matches remaining in the season.
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