Borussia Dortmund showed no signs of rust as the Bundesliga resumed on Saturday, after thrashing cross-town rivals Schalke 4-0 behind closed doors.
Bundesliga
Result: Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Schalke
Date: 16 May 2020
Venue: Signal Iduna Park
Click through the gallery to see Dortmund thrashing Schalke behind closed doors.
Dortmund were forced into a change before kickoff, with Gio Reyna making way for Thorgan Hazard after suffering an injury in the warm-up while Jadon Sancho remained on the bench.
The Black and Yellow came into the contest still brimming with confidence following four successive victories, with Schalke's last victory coming on January 17 at home to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Erling Haaland got into the swing of things a early on, however his sliced effort crashed into the side-netting following Julian Brandt's in-swinging corner, while Roman Burki's outstretched leg steered Daniel Caliguiri's rasping drive to safety at the other end.
Dortmund grabbed the lead on 29 minutes when Hazard's teasing ball into the middle found Haaland, who finished with aplomb after shielding the ball from the defence.
As Schalke attempted a comeback, Salif Sane stopped his side conceding a second goal with a last-ditch clearance off Mahmoud Dahoud's header.
There was no stopping Lucien Favre's side on the stroke of halftime when strong pressing from Haaland played in Brandt, who set-up Raphael Guerreiro for a low finish to make it 209.
Schalke looked to the bench straight after halftime and in came striker Guido Burgstaller and Rabbi Matondo for Jean-Clair Todibo and Benito Raman respectively.
Dortmund's dominance though continued as Hazard connected with a long ball off a quick counter for a thumping finish past Marcus Schubert three minutes into the second stanza.
Guerreiro, who capped off the first spell, grabbed a brace towards the final quarter of the second half with a deft finish following a one-two with Haaland.
Hazard limped off in the closing phases after picking up a knock, giving Favre a caution for concern with Sancho coming on for the final 11 minutes of the stanza.
Dortmund however had done more than enough to get all the points and continue their push for the title.
