Borussia Dortmund got their third Group D win in a row, thanks to a 0-4 win over Galatasary. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's brace and a wonder-goal from Marco Reus had BVB three goals up at half-time. Adrian Ramos struck late on to put the result beyond doubt and seal a very convincing win for the out-of-form German side.
After the massive 2-1 win over eternal rivals Fenerbache at the weekend, Galatasary made three changes to that team. Veysel Sarı, Blerim Džemaili and Olcan Adın dropped out of the eleven, meaning Alex Telles, Hamit Altıntop and Goran Pandev earned a starting spot. For Borussia Dortmund, Jürgen Klopp also made a trio of alterations to the side that lost 2-1 at Köln. İlkay Gündoğan, Kevin Großkreutz and Ciro Immobile dropped to the bench for Sebastian Kehl, Neven Subotić and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan and the attacking trio looked extremely dangerous behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and, with the Galatasary defence seeming slightly shaky, they took their chance early on. An incredibly high line from the Turkish champions was punished within six minutes, as the Armenian play-maker drove through from midfield and slid the ball onto Marco Reus. The fit-again winger showed a great turn of pace to get clear of the Gala back-line and sent in a a teasing cross for Aubameyang to tap home. The BVB top scorer made no mistake from six yards, leaving the scurrying Fernando Muslera grasping at thin air.
The early goal seemed to rally the Cimbom, unfortunately it had woken up the forwards and not the defenders. That allowed BVB to take advantage of a lapse in concentration from the home defence. Mkhitaryan was central to the move once more, with a great through ball to unleashing Łukasz Piszczek down the right-hand side. Alex Telles was caught out and couldn't recover quickly enough, leaving the Pole in an acre of space to pick out a cross. His wonderful delivery was straight to the un-marked Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; he was in no mood to give Muslera a chance to save his shot and he thundered a half-volley home from five yards.
Yet again, Galatasary tried to push for a quick goal. Wesley Sneijder was booked for simulation, despite the strong appeals from the home fans for a penalty. Burak Yılmaz was denied by Neven Subotić's fine last ditch tackle and the side netting, but Dortmund were still in control. Aubameyang almost had his third tap-in and goal of the match, though he couldn't convert Mkhitaryan's cut-back and the ball cannoned off the post. Mkhitaryan was causing all sorts of problems in the Galatasary box, but it was Marco Reus who would extend the visitors' lead.
Taking aim from all of 30 yards and already with an assist, Reus leathered the ball past Muslera. The Uruguayan goalkeeper could only raise a hand before the ball flew over his head, helpless with the immense power and swerve on the long-range effort. The winger was showing the pre-injury form that had tops clubs in Europe salivating over his performances and tonight's game was no different. BVB went in to half-time with a comfortable lead, having quietened the hostile atmosphere and cancelling out the hosts' threat.
There was one worry for Borussia Dortmund at the start of the second-half, as Sven Bender had to be substituted with a painful-looking elbow injury. German TV network ZDF confirmed he was immediately taken to hospital. Reus nearly added a fourth soon after, though his half-volley flew wildly over the crossbar. Galatasary tried to introduce some fresh impetus with Blerim Džemaili and former-BVB youth player Yasin Öztekin making an entrance. Reus was pulling the strings in the second period, as he went close 3/4 more times to finding yet another goal.
The hosts provided little or no attacking troubles for the BVB back-line, so Mats Hummels was taken off for İlkay Gündoğan, allowing Matthias Ginter to move into defence and get some game time in his natural position. It was the perfect situation for Ginter to come on, with the game killed off before half-time and Galatasary seemingly accepting defeat. Substitute Adrian Ramos was able to get on the score-sheet, less than a minute after he replaced Shinji Kagawa. A good, penetrating run from Gündoğan saw the midfielder beat his man with ease and lay it off to the Columbian striker. A one touch later, he had rifled it past Muslera and an emphatic victory was sealed.
That win meant that Borussia Dortmund stayed top of the Group D table; maintaining the three point lead over Arsenal, after a late show saw the Gunners win 2-1 against Anderlecht. The German's look assured of a place in the last sixteen, with 8 points between themselves and the Belgian side. Galatasary - sitting on a solitary point - will not be looking forward to the return trip, when they travel to the Westfalenstadion in two weeks. The Turkish runners-up are sitting bottom of the group and will have a lot of work to do if they are to finish in the top two.