After a cagey opening half-hour, Borussia Dortmund grabbed the first half by the scruff of the neck and began to push forward and were rewarded when Mats Hummels stabbed home to give them the lead just before half-time. A wonderful solo goal from Robert Lewandowski made it two for the visitors who controlled the game until the final whistle, but just before the referee blew Marco Reus added a third in another fantastic BVB away performance.
Dortmund came into the game having lost their last two games at home by two goals to one, not ideal preparation for the Westphalians, who craved some consistency in a season of twists and turns aplenty. Despite the defeats, BVB sit in second place, albeit one point clear of Schalke, and have also progressed into the Champions League quarter finals, where they'll face Real Madrid.
The main downside for the away side during the week was that Marcel Schmelzer picked up a thigh injury and will mix the next month or so. Though, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus both returned to the side, after suspension and an injury set-back respectively. The Armenian slotted straight back in, with Reus taking a seat on the bench.
The home side were in much better form than their counterparts. Since Tayfun Korkut took over at the start of the Rückrunde, Hannover have only lost three times, much improved to the end of Mirko Slomka's reign. Their last outing was a fantastic three-nil win against Hertha Berlin in the Olympiastadion, a massive achievement considering their deplorable away form.
However, Leon Andreasen would miss the game against Dortmund, after he accumulated five yellow cards. Sadly, Hannover cult hero Steve Cherundolo retired during the week after a recurring knee injury, but the American who is also the Saxony side's record appearance maker, will continue at the club in a coaching role.
The first half at the HDI Arena began slowly, Dortmund had the majority of the ball, but neither side were willing to commit men forward as they got a feel for the game. The first chance came as BVB began to move the ball around, the ball made it's way to the left flank, but Kevin Großkreutz' drive flew wide of the post. The quiet start came as a surprise, as over the last ten games, games involving these two sides have averaged over four goals per game. Things did start to liven up as Hannover hit the post from a set piece, as Mats Hummels cleared, the header fell to Lars Stindl who smashed against the post.
Großkreutz seemed to be BVB's most likely goal-scorer after twenty-five minutes, when he had a tame effort stopped by Ron-Robert Zieler, who was playing his 100th consecutive Bundesliga game. With Großkreutz being a real danger for BVB, the same could be said for Stindl of Hannover, who stung the palms of Roman Weidenfeller soon after with a rasping volley, a comfortable save nonetheless. Both teams exchanged set-piece chances up until the forty-second minute, when Dortmund made their chances count. A lovely ball in from Jonas Hofmann with nodded down by Sokratis to his centre-back partner Hummels, who simply poked past a helpless Zieler to give BVB an invaluable lead, on the stroke of half-time.
Dortmund picked up where they left off and soon had a second goal to celebrate. A long ball forward found Robert Lewandowski, the then Pole proceeded to run past the entire Hannover defence from wide on the left as he made his way to the middle and thundered a shot past Zieler who could do nothing about it. The soon to be Bayern striker's sixteenth of the season. Thankfully for the Westphalians, they could call on Marco Reus for the first time in a few weeks, as he and Kehl came on for Hofmann and Sahin. BVB could then calm down and look to close the game out, yet young Erik Durm had other ideas as he almost embarrassed Zieler from thirty yards, but his chipped shot hit the top of the net. Despite the introductions of Jan Schlaudraff and Didier Ya Konan, Hannover looked limp and lifeless on the attack, rarely forcing Weidenfeller into a save. The game was drawing to a halt, but Marco Reus rounded Zieler and tapped in on the angle to make it a very well deserved thee-nil to Dortmund.
So a very important win for Borussia Dortmund as they keep a point ahead of Schalke ahead of Tuesday's Revierderby, a perfect warm up for them. Hannover slip to the fourth defeat of Korkut's reign, despite that they still remain well clear of the relegation zone and will look to get back to form against Hoffenheim on Wednesday.
Line-ups:
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Hummels, Sokratis, Durm; Kirch, Sahin (Kehl; Großkreutz, Mkhitaryan, Hofmann (Reus 68'); Lewandowski (Schieber 84'). (4-2-3-1)
Hannover: Zieler; Sakai, Hoffmann, Schulz, Pocognoli; Schmiedebach, Sané (Ya Konan 59'); Stindl, Prib (Schaludraff 73'); Huszti, Bittencourt. (4-2-2-2)