Borussia Dortmund didn’t need as many chances and scored once in each half to beat Cologne 2-0 on Saturday, which put them one point behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
Dortmund, missing more than a half-dozen players due to injury, including top scorer Erling Haaland, missed some golden early chances for skipper Marco Reus, but Thoran Hazard did the better in the 40th minute.
Jude Bellingham delivers a brilliant chip in the box and the Belgian wraps his run home to perfection.
Bellingham have significantly increased their contribution to the Dortmund attack this season, providing three assists to add to their two league goals.
Cologne put the ball into the net but the effort was aborted due to a handball and the visitors forced keeper Gregor Kobel to last-gasp with a long-range shot, a constant threat to striker Anthony Modest.
Cologne had 19 attempts on target, compared to Dortmund’s seven.
However, Stefan Tiggs added another for the hosts in the 64th, going into a corner to give them a two-goal cushion with their first Bundesliga goal, much to the relief of 67,000 fans at the stadium.
Dortmund coach Marco Rose said, “Cologne really made it difficult for us to get into the game. Cologne was the pace setter Tame. They were the better team with the ball and so we are very happy with this win.”
“We have a lot of injury absence, so it’s a big compliment to the team that we managed to collect points during this difficult period,” Rose said.
With their fourth straight league win, Dortmund, who host Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League next week, matched the club record with six wins from their first six home games of the season and went up to 24 points, Bayern. One place behind, who beat Union Berlin 5-2.
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