Stuttgart put out of their misery only seconds into added time. Full time.
90'
The whistle had already gone as Schieber tries to grab one against his former club. He apparently did not hear the referee's signal, as he runs around Ulreich and slots in off the post. Dortmund fans cheer, but there's no changing the referee's mind.
88'
Boka makes what may be his first remotely positive play of the game, hacking away a long punt forward ahead of the streaking Blaszczykowski.
86'
Kuba's searching free kick towards the far post is punched away with some authority bu Ulreich. He's had a hapless game, the Stuttgart keeper.
85'
I. Traoré enters the game and replaces M. Leitner.
Could it be seventh heaven for Dortmund soon? Still plenty of time for the hosts to strike again.
83'
Dortmund have racked up a half dozen, ad it's been as simple as plucking wings off of a butterfly. Stuttgart have made it easy for them, it's true, but Klopp's men have still been awesomely clinical when it mattered. Ominous signs for Arsenal midweek in the Champions League.
81'
P. Aubameyang has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund! Assist by R. Lewandowski.
Aubameyang this time popping up centrally, and nearly gets on the end of Kuba's low ball into the box, but the Pole's delivery was too close to Ulreich.
DORTMUND HAVE THEIR SIXTH!
It's just gravy time at Signal-Iduna Park. The move started from a Weidenfeller throw. Lewa takes it down the left and clips into Aubameyang at the far post. His touch is poor, but Ulreich's attempt at saving is even worse, as the ball sails over his head and into the net. Lewandowski follows it in with his head just to be sure.
80'
Aubameyang is using his speed to superlative effect against the gassed Stuttgart back line. He breaks free down the left, cuts onto his right foot at the top of the box, and tries to bend one in on goal, but Ulreich pushes it away. A save you'd expect the keeper to make, but it still had to be made, after all.
78'
Maxim has had enough, and lets fly from all of 35 yards. Way, way off target, and no need to dwell on that one any further.
76'
J. Schieber enters the game and replaces H. Mkhitaryan.
Nearly a fourth for Lewa! Aubameyang outpaces all and sundry down the left hand side, and squares to the striker for what seems like a tap in, but Schwaab desperately and determinedly slides the ball away from danger!
Minute
Description
74'
M. Harnik enters the game and replaces T. Werner.
That Haggui goal seems eons away now. The defender has been one of a number of players to give the ball away inexplicably. At least three of Dortmund's goals have come as a result of the visitors' cavalier attitude with the ball.
72'
R. Lewandowski has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund!
Another Dortmund change, as Schmelzer is withdrawn for Durm. Looks to be a precautionary move from Klopp as his regular left back seemed to be moving gingerly.
LEWANDOWSKI SEALS HIS HAT TRICK!
Haggui coughs up possession for the umpteenth time, and Lewandowski releases Kuba on the right. He cracks a stinging drive off the woodwork, but the striker is on hand to bury the rebound!
71'
E. Durm enters the game and replaces M. Schmelzer.
Gentner leaves his studs out in a challenge on Kuba, and the Polish international is down in some pain. He's back to his feet, holding his thigh in some discomfort.
70'
Hummels does exceptionally well to stop a run by the substitute Abdellaoue. The defender was at fault for the opener, but has hardly had a thing to do since. Good awareness and execution on that play though.
68'
M. Abdellaoue enters the game and replaces V. Ibišević.
You get the sense that Dortmund are not even exerting themselves fully, but they have completely outclassed one of the Bundesliga's better sides. Ibisevic has not had a sniff, and his evening is about to be cut short.
66'
LEWANDOWSKI! Nearly his treble! Sahin works hard to squeeze the ball into the Pole at the top of the box, and he cracks one in at goal, but Ulreich is on hand to push away! Boka clears the rebound just ahead of Kuba.
64'
Dortmund seem to have taken their foot off the gas pedal since the fourth goal. That's not to say that Stuttgert have found their rhythm though, as the visitors continue to chase shadows across the middle of the park. No pressure on the ball, they continue to let BVB play.
62'
Grosskreutz has been absolutely stellar at the back, even counting that incident against Werner. He makes a superb sliding challenge to stop Maxim in his tracks on a dangerous attack on the edge of the box.
60'
No rest for the wicked or the weary. Stuttgart's tired legs will now have to contend against the pace of Aubameyang, who spells Reus for the final half hour or so.
59'
P. Aubameyang enters the game and replaces M. Reus.
58'
In a mirror image of their first half goalscoring exploits, Dortmund put the visitors to the sword with two goals in quick succession. Lewandowski has ended his three-game barren run in cutthroat fashion, and it's now simply a matter of how many the hosts want to score.
56'
R. Lewandowski has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund! Assist by H. Mkhitaryan.
LEWA AGAIN!
Mkhitaryan has been rather subdued so far, but he bursts into life with a sublime defence splitting ball from the halfway line that carves the centre backs into two. Lewandowski runs onto it, and finishes coolly!
54'
R. Lewandowski has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund! Assist by M. Reus.
LEWANDOWSKI! 3-1!
Haggui's headed clearance does not go far enough, and Reus pounces on the loose ball. Marginally onside, he flicks Lewandowski into space inside the six yard box, and the striker does the rest!
53'
S. Papastathopoulos gets yellow.
Grosskreutz short on the pass, forcing Sokratis to overcompensate to get to the ball. He spots Gentner ready to dart ahead of him, and takes one for the team, tripping the midfielder and earning himself a yellow card.
Poor from Maxim again. This was a much better set piece opportunity, right on the edge of the box, but he can't get it over the wall and back down in time. Goalkick.
51'
What should have been a promising free kick after Bender fouled Gentner, ends up back in the opposition hands after Maxim's delivery cannot beat Bender, who makes up for conceding the foul with a powerful headed clearance.
49'
Anyway, back to matters on the pitch. The match has struggled to get off the ground since the restart, though BVB as ever look more comfortable in possession.
47'
I stand corrected on the controversial decision of Florian Meyer in the first half, by the way. Apparently, he HAD blown for a penalty, which stopped play, but then on advice from the linesman, decided against awarding the spot kick. Since he had stopped play initially, the only course of action was to proceed with the drop ball when he had no decision to make. Well done ref.
46'
Here we go again!
45' +2
Half time folks.
45' +1
The referee is not having a stormer himself, he awards a non-existent free kick against Lewandowski, who shimmied his way out of trouble at the top of the box and fired in a telling shot at Ulreich.
45'
One minute of added time to go.
44'
Sahin kicks the ball into the opposition half to give the ball back to Stuttgart, and normalcy can resume.
43'
What a strange sequence to decipher. Replays showed that Werner went down under pressure from Grosskreutz in the box. A 50-50 call really, either a penalty or a yellow card for simulation, but the referee cops out in the strangest way possible by awarding a drop ball, of all things. I'm as nonplussed as you.
42'
HANG ON! Werner goes down in the box, and the referee has a decision to make! Both sets of players come together, hounding the referee, it's all kicking off!
41'
The first half has slowed down markedly with the interval on the horizon. However, another dreadful clearance from Stuttgart nearly allow Dortmund through, but with five yellow shirts streaming forward, Haggui makes an important interception.
40'
Reus just misses out on getting a killer touch on Sahin's pass that would have taken him around Schwaab and in a one-on-one duel with Ulreich.
38'
Strong defending from Sokratis, shielding Ibisevic off the ball well, and allowing Weidenfeller the time he needs to come off his line and claim a through ball.
36'
Grosskreutz whips in a testing ball, and despite no Dortmund player appearing within five yards of the cross, Ulreigh takes no chances, and does just enough at full stretch to tip the ball out of his box.
34'
Stuttgart are fast losing all sense of defensive organization. Sakai clears the ball right into Dortmund territory, and the host counter attack instantly. Lewandowski has it on the edge of the box, but unleashes one of the strangest efforts that you will ever see - a looping scoop that is laughably off target.
32'
Boka is really having a nightmare on the left side of Stuttgart's defence. Reus ghosts past him as if he was nothing but a shadow, and slips Kuba in on goal, but the Pole just cannot catch up with the pass ahead of Ulreich.
30'
Dortmund with a lovely passage of one touch football inside a packed Stuttgart box, and Kuba very nearly shakes off Haggui to have a crack from well inside the area, but he loses his balance at the most inopportune moment.
28'
More stern pressure from the BVB machine. Yellow shirts swarm on Die Schwaben's box, as Hummels nearly gets on the end of a low ball in complete space. Offside called though.
26'
The game just starting to settle down after that BVB flurry, but Stuttgart are still finding it hard to fashion anything meaningful in the opposition half. Their forays forward do not last longer than a beat, and Dortmund are given ample opportunity to come right back at them.
24'
Dortmund's attack is increasingly dominant, but we haven't seen much from Mkhitaryan so far. The Armenian has been quiet in comparison to his teammates, but that may not stay as is for long, with Kvist and Gentner, his direct opponents, having a rough ride so far.
22'
M. Reus has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund!
REUS! DORTMUND RAPIDFIRE!
Haggui's good work to score the opener is forgotten in an instant, as he was muscled to the turf by Reus, allowing the German international the space he needed to advance into the box and score. Take nothing away from Reus though, who made a barreling run, and slotted in a fine finish with his weaker foot.
21'
Stuttgart's good fortune is evaporated in seconds, and Dortmund have their tails up now. Black and yellow swarming on white now as the visitors brace themselves against increasing pressure.
19'
S. Papastathopoulos has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund! Assist by N. Şahin.
DORTMUND TIE IT UP!
Sokratis brings the hosts back on terms with an almost identical goal to Stuttgart's opener! From Sahin's corner, he storms in ahead of Sakai and rises highest to plant a header past the despairing dive of Ulreich!
18'
Looks like I spoke too soon, as Dortmund nearly break through! Lewandowski streams past the static Boka, and nearly lays it on a plate for Reus on the six yard line, but Schwabb blocks!
17'
Dortmund continue to play their football, but Stuttgart's deep defensive line is forcing them outside of their counter-attacking comfort zone and into sequences of patient play in the attacking third. The visitors proving increasingly difficult to break down.
15'
An early setback for Dortmund, but no doubt that they have the quality and propensity to get themselves back in contention. How long will it take for them to muster a response though?
13'
K. Haggui has scored a goal for Stuttgart! Assist by A. Maxim.
STUTTGART TAKE A SHOCK LEAD!
Absolutely inexcusable defending from Hummels and Sokratis on that corner from Maxim. Haggui was allowed the freedom of the Westfalenstadion to bounce a simple header into the back of the net from the penalty spot!
12'
Stuttgart have won a promising free kick on the right side, and Maxim stands over it. BVB forced to defend in the last minute or so.
Maxin whips it into the far post, and at the last second, it bends towards the top corner! But Weidenfeller is on hand to tip out for a corner!
10'
KUBAAAAAAA...Ulreich had to be VERY alert there! The Polish winger received a seemingly harmless throw in near the corner flag and on the half volley, drilled towards the top corner! It was entirely intentional by Kuba, but Stuttgart's No. 1 saw it in time to tip over!
8'
Dortmund, on the back of this vociferous support, have bossed it so far. Stuttgart, holding a deep defensive line, clearly are trying to prevent their pacy attackers from hitting then on the break. But the hosts, as a consequence, are finding plenty of space to combine on the edge of the box.
6'
The corner is cleared by the defence, but nearly a SUICIDAL error form Kvist, whose back pass set up Reus in acres of space on the edge of the box! He spots Lewandowski and Mkhitaryan making the same run towards goal, but delivers the ball too far behind their run. That could, and should have been 1-0.
5'
Sahin tries to spin it into the far post, but he can't beat the first man, but Dortmund will have another go from this corner, coming up.
4'
Boka finding himself in hot water, as Kuba wriggles by him just outside the area. The Dortmund man may have gone down a little softly, but Boka was still careless, and has conceded a tough free kick for his side to defend.
3'
Some early defensive work for Grosskreutz on the right against the dual threat of Werner and Boka, but Dortmund's very own energizer bunny deals with it stoutly.
1'
The players are in place, and the referee gets this one underway!
Greetings one and all, and I hope you enjoy this Friday treat - Borussia Dortmund vs Stuttgart at the Westfalenstadion. My name is Keeghann Sinanan, and I'll be your guide through all the action.
Not sure about you, but I'm pretty amped for this match. Some of the Bundesliga's finest and most in form attackers will be playing from the first whistle.
Don't sleep on Stuttgart for a second though, who can go toe to toe with anyone in the league thanks to their dynamic duo up front. Vedad Ibisevic currently tops the Bundesliga scoring charts with three other players on seven goals. Meanwhile, Alexandru Maxim is tearing it up in his first full season at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, notching for goals and five assists in only eight Buli games. The Dortmund defensive spine of Bender, Hummels and Sokratis have their work cut out for them tonight.
Dortmund have already been out on the pitch soaking up the adulaton from their always superb home support. Stuttgart are late coming out, with many of their players looking rather peeved at having to rush into action.
Dortmund are of course led from the front by joint-top Buli scorer Robert Lewandowski (six goals), with the reliable Kuba Blaszczykowski and electric Marco Reus on the flanks either side of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who laid on two goals for his teammates in the 3-1 Ruhr derby scalping of Schalke. Nuri Sahin continues his new lease on life at BVB in midfield, while in the back five, the only irregularity is Sokratis in place of Neven Subotic.
The opening period has been nothing if not absorbing. Haggui shocked the stadium with a 13th minute opener, but BVB refused to be held down, and stormed back into the lead through a pair of quick fire goals from Sokratis and Reus. But the main talking point is that strange refereeing decision to award a drop ball on a penalty claim by Werner, when the course of action was surely either a spot-kick or a yellow card for diving. Lots to digest at the break.
Dortmund have simply blown Stuttgart away in the most effortless manner possible. After going behind in the first half, Klopp's team hit the hapless visitors for a half dozen, with Lewandowski grabbing a treble to take his league-leading goal tally to nine. It's now also a league-best 31 goals in 11 Bundesliga games for BVB, who provisionally go to the top of the table.
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