Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus said his side had regained their confidence after he inspired them to a cathartic 6-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday, and set his sights on a Europa League comeback against Rangers in midweek.
“We had to show a reaction today and we did just that,” said Reus after Dortmund bounced back from their 4-2 defeat to Rangers with a thumping win over Gladbach.
“We know that we have an all-or-nothing game on Thursday, and we’ve got our confidence back now,” he added, looking ahead to the second leg of their Europa League tie in Glasgow.
The Dortmund captain was involved in five of the six goals as his side rampaged past Gladbach on Sunday, scoring two himself and picking up a hat-trick of assists.
The hosts took the lead on 26 minutes when Donyell Malen forced a save from Yann Sommer and Reus smashed in the rebound.
Malen doubled the lead shortly afterwards, beating Sommer in a one-on-one after slipping away from Gladbach’s high defensive line.
Dortmund’s US midfielder Giovanni Reyna left the pitch in tears shortly after Reus’ goal with an apparent hamstring problem, but his team continued their charge after the break.
Marius Wolf smashed a brilliant shot in off the bar to make it 3-0 and 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko added another with a tap-in five minutes later.
Reus, who had set up both of those goals, picked up his second goal with a neat finish into the bottom corner 10 minutes from time.
Emre Can completed the rout with a penalty in injury time after Ramy Bensebaini brought down Wolf in the box.
Lewandowski at the double
Dortmund remain six points behind league leaders Bayern, who also bounced back from a disappointing week with a 4-1 win over bottom club Greuther Fuerth.
Bayern, who lost at promoted Bochum last weekend, came from behind to beat Fuerth thanks to a second-half brace from Robert Lewandowski.
“This was an important win for us, psychologically and in terms of the table,” Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann told DAZN.
Fuerth striker Jamie Leweling was twice denied by Sven Ulreich after breaking free of the Bayern back line, before Branimir Hrgota gave his side the lead with a deflected free-kick shortly before half-time.
Having lost Corentin Tolisso to injury midway through the first half, Bayern appeared to be facing yet another miserable afternoon.
But the champions bounced back just seconds after the restart, Lewandowski bundling the ball over the line from close range after a sharp run down the right from Serge Gnabry.
They took the lead just after the hour when Sebastian Griesbeck turned a Thomas Mueller cross into his own net to score an own goal against Bayern for the second time this season.
Fuerth refused to roll over, with Max Christiansen and Marco Meyerhoefer both hitting the post a few minutes later.
Lewandowski ended the resistance 10 minutes from time, nodding the ball in from close range after Niklas Suele had set him up with a pinpoint header across the face of goal.
Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting completed the comeback with a tap-in in injury time.
In Sunday’s late game, RB Leipzig reclaimed fourth place with an impressive 6-1 win at Hertha Berlin.
Leipzig took the lead on 20 minutes when Linus Gechter deflected in Benjamin Henrichs’ shot.
Struggling Hertha hit back on the counter-attack just after half time, Stevan Jovetic picking out the bottom corner.
Marc Kempf was sent off after bringing down Christopher Nkunku in the box, and the Frenchman restored Leipzig’s lead with the resulting penalty.
Nkunku and Dani Olmo added two more in the following 10 minutes as 10-man Hertha wilted.
Amadou Haidara rubbed salt in the wound ten minutes from time with a blistering long-range shot into the bottom corner, before Yussuf Poulsen added a sixth with a delicate chip over the goalkeeper.
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