BERLIN – Borussia Dortmund extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to 13 points on Friday, blitzing second-placed Bayer Leverkusen with three goals in just six minutes for an impressive 3-1 away win.
Having already begun 2011 with a ten-point lead, Dortmund hit second-half goals in quick succession from teenager Mario Goetze and two from 22-year-old Kevin Grosskreutz to seal the win.
With such a commanding cushion, Dortmund can start dreaming of their first German title since 2002. Although Leverkusen rallied in the game’s final 15 minutes, Dortmund coach Klopp — who has been tipped as a future manager of English giants Liverpool — was clearly delighted with his side’s convincing away win. Dortmund’s clinical second-half performance overshadowed the eagerly anticipated return of Germany captain Ballack from the leg injury which has kept him out of football since September. Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes opted to delay the veteran’s return by keeping him on the bench for the entire game. Leverkusen’s Germany goalkeeper Adler had a busy evening between the posts. Grosskreutz, who is tipped as a future Germany star, opened the scoring when he latched onto a handball by Leverkusen defender Daniel Schwaab and tapped his shot past Adler on 49 minutes.
Just four minutes later, the attacking midfielder curled his shot around Adler after Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller’s goalkick was headed on by striker Lewandowski for Grosskreutz to blast home. And Leverkusen’s misery was compounded when Grosskreutz turned provider as Goetze beat Adler for the third time from close-range on 55 minutes.
