BERLIN, Jan. 24-- Borussia Dortmund cruised past newly-promoted Cologne 5-1 after Erling Haaland's brace put the result beyond doubt in the second half at the opener of the 19th round in Bundesliga on Friday. The "BVB" recorded their second win in a row after beating Cologne following a powerful performance over 90 minutes. Cologne stepped up after the restart but Haaland's scoring spree continues and sealed the deal with two late goals. Dortmund grabbed a perfect start in front of the home crowd as they needed only 52 seconds to break the deadlock after Jadon Sancho teed up for Raphael Guerreiro, who tapped home the opener from inside the box. The hosts thought they had a chance to extend the lead from the penalty spot but the video assistant referee (VAR) revoked the penalty in the 12th minute. Cologne tried to respond but was only able to create half-chances while Dortmund doubled their advantage at the half-hour mark when Marco Reus capitalized on a long ball from Mats Hummels to beat Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn. Reus' goal was initially ruled offside but the VAR intervened once again and confirmed the 2-0 lead. After the restart, Dortmund increased the pressure and added another goal to their lead with just three minutes into the second half as Sancho had all time and space to drill the ball from inside the box into the roof of the net. Cologne suddenly sparked to life and reduced the arrears at the hour mark after Schalke loanee Mark Uth benefitted on a failed clearance from a corner to hammer home from tight angle to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards. |