In a game in which they were never really tested, Borussia Dortmund came out 4-0 winners against FK Gabala, booking their place in the knockout rounds with the three points.
The hosts played well early on but got no reward for their pressure. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcel Schmelzer had opportunities in the opening exchanges, though they would eventually be rewarded for their class and quality.
A routine win
Dortmund finally went ahead after half an hour when Marco Reus exchanged passes with Mkhitaryan before taking the ball across the edge of the area. The winger cut inside and proceeded to march towards goal, unleashing a powerful shot that zipped in off the turf and past David Pietrzkiewicz.
A second goal came just before the break, and this time Pietrzkiewicz was at fault. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found himself on the scoresheet once more when he picked the ball up midway inside the Gabala half, before driving towards their defence. The Gabonese forward beat one defender and then fired a snapshot towards the near post, catching the visitors' stopper off-guard.
Reus' injury is a concern
The dominance continued into the second half, but it took until the 67th minute for BVB to score a third and put the game beyond any doubt. Adnan Januzaj, who replaced the injured Reus at the break, whipped in a corner towards the near post and Lukas Piszczek. He missed the ball but Sergei Zenjov misjudged the flight as a result, and deflected into his own net.
The scoring was rounded off three minutes later, with Piszczek playing his part once more. This was a more conventional assist, as he feed the ball into the feed of Mkhitaryan on the edge of the area. The Armenian international drove into the penalty area with purpose and finished with aplomb, smashing the ball into the roof of the net with amazing precision. BVB moved onto 10 points, keeping their three point advantage over Krasnodar intact. Gabala, however, stay bottom.