Borussia Dortmund vs Hertha Berlin. German Bundesliga.
Signal Iduna Park.
Report as Dortmund close gap on Bayern Munich but their title hopes remain very slim
Saturday 6 June 2020 21:20, UK
Emre Can netted the only goal for Borussia Dortmund as they took charge of second place in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin.
After defeats for both Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach, and RB Leipzig drawing at home with Paderborn, this was a fantastic chance for Dortmund to take charge of the Champions League qualification places - and they took it to move four points clear of third.
Former Liverpool midfielder Can, who was playing as a centre-back, struck the winner on 57 minutes when controlling a clever finish into the bottom corner after a lovely knockdown by Julian Brandt.
It was a first defeat for Hertha boss Bruno Labbadia, who had overseen an unbeaten four-game run since taking over.
Players of Dortmund and Hertha Berlin went down on one knee ahead of their Bundesliga game in tribute to George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose death in police custody has triggered protests around the world.
Hertha came into the clash under a rich vein of form under Labbadia - as shown by their record of picking up 10 points from a possible 12 since the restart.
They looked a well-organised outfit early on as despite some fancy footwork by Jadon Sancho, Dortmund rarely threatened. Brandt skewing an effort from 18 yards wide was the closest they came in a dull opening 45 minutes.
Sancho, who scored a hat-trick in last week's 6-1 win at Paderborn, endured a frustrating afternoon and was guilty of an uncharacteristic miss from close range on 51 minutes when he managed to place the ball wide from six yards out.
Dortmund started to pin the visitors back and their resistance finally broke on 57 minutes when Can finished off a move whilst being up from the back. Brandt's cushioned header towards Can set up the chance and he took full advantage of the opportunity, controlling a cute finish into the bottom corner.
The response from Hertha was limited and Sancho really should have wrapped up the points late on but squandered another gilt-edge chance from close range.
Dortmund travel to Fortuna Dusseldorf next Saturday, while Hertha Berlin host Frankfurt.
