SC Paderborn 07 vs Borussia Dortmund. German Bundesliga.
Benteler-Arena.
Report as Dortmund go goal crazy in the second half to reduce gap back to Bayern Munich
Monday 1 June 2020 06:04, UK
Jadon Sancho netted his first Bundesliga hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Paderborn and revealed a message calling for "justice" for the death of American George Floyd.
After a dismal first-half showing from Dortmund, Thorgan Hazard kicked his team into gear with a close-range finish (54) and Sancho - on his first start since the return of the Bundesliga - grabbed the first of his three goals (57) after a brilliant break by Julian Brandt.
Uwe Hunemeier pulled one back from the spot (72) for the bottom side in the Bundesliga but Sancho rifled home a terrific effort (74) to restore the two-goal cushion. Late goals from Achraf Hakimi (85) and Marcel Schmelzer (89) added gloss to the scoreline before Sancho scored his landmark goal (90+1) in stoppage time.
No player has now had a direct hand in more goals than Sancho (33) in the Bundesliga this season as he took his tally to 16 goals and 15 assists.
The win lifts Dortmund back to within seven points of leaders Bayern Munich while time is running out for Paderborn at the bottom of the Bundesliga as Steffen Baumgart's men are nine points from safety.
Paderborn shocked the Bundesliga giants in the reverse fixture by racing into a 3-0 half-time lead before Sancho, Axel Witsel and Marco Reus spared Dortmund's blushes to snatch a dramatic 3-3 draw.
Perhaps the memory of that performance was at the forefront of the Dortmund players' minds as they started brightly with Christopher Antwi-Adjei providing a sharp outlet on the counter. However, his final finish was lacking, blazing three efforts from inside the box off target.
Dortmund usually dominate teams through their full-backs but the influential pair of Raphael Guerreiro and Hakimi were well marshalled by Paderborn, although Guerreiro did have an effort cleared off the line on 27 minutes.
Hazard settled the Dortmund nerves after the break as he gave them the lead on 54 minutes from close range after a mistake by Paderborn goalkeeper Leopold Zingerle.
Sancho made it 2-0 three minutes later with a simple tap-in. During his celebration he unveiled a message under his shirt that read: 'Justice for George Floyd' - an unarmed black man who died in Minnesota while in police custody, an incident that has sparked widespread protests in the United States.
Former Dortmund academy player Huenemeier pulled one back for Paderborn on 72 minutes after Emre Can was harshly deemed to have blocked an effort away with his arm.
However, Sancho scored Dortmund's third two minutes later with a fine left-foot shot and Hakimi and Schmelzer took advantage of some tiring Paderborn limbs with two late strikes.
With time ticking away, Sancho completed his hat-trick when finding so much space in behind down the right flank and finishing into the far corner.
Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea combined to score three goals as Borussia Moenchengladbach eased past Union Berlin 4-1 on Sunday to reclaim third place in the Bundesliga.
The 22-year-old Thuram headed in at the far post from fellow Frenchman Plea's cross on 41 minutes after Florian Neuhaus had put the hosts ahead with a solo run.
Sebastian Andersson briefly cut the deficit for the visitors five minutes after the restart.
But the hosts, playing fluid football in front of empty stands filled with cardboard cutouts of fans, were far superior, constantly finding space to attack
