Borussia Dortmund 7-2 Odds BK: Four things we learnt as BVB canter into Europa League group stage

Resurgent Borussia Dortmund cantered their way into this season’s Europa League as they creamed Norwegian visitors Odds BK by 7-2 at Signal Iduna Park, to win the play-off round with an insane aggregate score of 11-5.Having been put to the sword in the first leg in Norway when the hosts raced to a 3-0 lead inside 22 minutes, Die Borussen valiantly fought back to turn the tables around by pumping in four goals by the end of the time and entered the second leg with a spot all but assured. However, the magnitude with which they did the same is highly startling.The visitors went ahead again here, but it was all Dortmund from there on as the Ruhr Valley outfit ran riot with a 7-goal salvo, which also saw Marco Reus and Shinji Kagawa bagging a hat-trick and a brace respectively.Here are some of the things we learnt from the thrilling goal-fest in North Rhine-Westfalia. 

#1 Reus getting back to his best

Former Borussia Monchengladbach attacking midfielder Marco Reus had been one of Dortmund’s focal point in the attack, being a part of the famous trinity alongside Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski. Together, the magnificant troika fired the club to great heights but since the departures of the latter two, the talismanic mantle tumbled to the shoulders of just the blond German.

Although last year Reus couldn’t inspire his side the way he was supposed to, as his season would be plagued with injuries and poor form, the 26-year old has, this season, hit his stride again and is firing at all cylinders. The Germany international had already netted three times this season in 6 games, but after this round, hiked the figure by another three as he netted a treble on the night to steal the show with his scoring prowess.

Reus got his first just before the half-hour mark after some good work down the right flank by Ilkay Gundogan allowed him apply a close-range finish and doubled his tally just 5 minutes later when he slotted home an accurate volley as Mkhitaryan played a sublime through ball. He completed a hat-trick early in the second half when he latched on to another cross from Mkhitaryan, straight into the back post.

Although the set of strikes weren’t top drawer as such, but each one of them illustrated Reus’ positional awareness as he got into the right place at the right time to heighten the threat.

Reus has scored 6 goals in all competitions this term and it indicates a good start to the season for a player who spent most of his time on the treatment table in the previous one.