Borussia Dortmund were grateful for Jadon Sancho's return to full fitness as they defeated strugglers Paderborn.
Borussia Dortmund were grateful for Jadon Sancho's return to full fitness as they defeated strugglers Paderborn.
Jadon Sancho marked his return to the Borussia Dortmund XI with a hat-trick and a political message as they thumped Bundesliga strugglers Paderborn 6-1 on Sunday.
Sancho was restored to the line-up for the first time since the coronavirus-enforced break after a disappointing midweek defeat to Bayern Munich saw the defending champions move seven points clear at the summit.
That reverse prompted fresh speculation regarding head coach Lucien Favre's future, but Sancho helped his second-placed side get back on track as they look to secure Champions League qualification.
Although Dortmund were frustrated until the 54th minute at the Benteler-Arena, Thorgan Hazard's opener was swiftly followed by a second from Sancho, who would later net again after Uwe Hunemeier brought Paderborn back into the contest, with Achraf Hakimi and Marcel Schmelzer adding gloss to the scoreline.
The England international rounded off his treble in the 92nd minute by capping a rapid Dortmund counter-attack.
Sancho celebrated his first by revealing a T-shirt bearing the message "Justice for George Floyd" in reference to the black American who died in an incident involving a police officer in Minnesota this week, prompting protests across the United States.
Bundesliga colleagues Weston McKennie and Marcus Thuram had similar tributes earlier in a weekend that concluded with Dortmund's return to winning ways.
Bundesliga Standings
Match Events
49' Missed! Hakimi's shot blocked
54' GOAL! Paderborn 0-1 Dortmund (Hazard)
DORTMUND TAKE THE LEAD! Can brushes past Strohdiek on the left and whips his cross back into the middle from the byline. Zingerle pushes the ball away from his near post and straight to Hazard who was waiting in the middle and he finds the back of the empty net. 1-0 Dortmund!
57' GOAL! Paderborn 0-2 Dortmund (Sancho)
THEY HAVE A SECOND! Paderborn won't be happy with that one as Brandt squares the ball across the six-yard box and Sancho's run through the middle isn't picked up. Zingerle was drawn to Brandt leaving Sancho with a simple tap-in. 2-0 Dortmund!
63' OFFSIDE! Srbeny’s goal disallowed
72' Penalty Goal! Paderborn 1-2 Dortmund (Hunemeier)
PADERBORN HAVE ONE BACK! Hunemeier looks confident as he steps up to the spot and fires his penalty high into the roof of the net. Burki went the right way but had no chance of getting to it. 2-1!
74' GOAL! Paderborn 1-3 Dortmund (Sancho)
SANCHO SCORES A SECOND! He gets the ball from Hazard on the edge of the box and takes a touch to set himself. There are a lot of Paderborn defenders in the box, but he fires his shot past Zingerle and into the bottom-right corner. 3-1 Dortmund!
85' GOAL! Paderborn 1-4 Dortmund (Hakimi)
HAKIMI SCORES! It's poor defending by Paderborn as Schmelzer nicks the ball from Strohdiek to set up Hakimi. Nobody closes him down on the right of the box and he drills his shot across goal and into the far bottom corner. 4-1 Dortmund!
89' GOAL! Paderborn 1-5 Dortmund (Schmelzer)
AND IT'S FIVE! It's a good cross from Witsel into the box and Schmelzer runs onto it in the middle of the six-yard box. He's under pressure from Hunemeier and he slips as he reaches the ball, but he still manages to beat Zingerle. 5-1 Dortmund!
91' GOAL! Paderborn 1-6 Dortmund (Sancho)
HAT-TRICK FOR SANCHO! It's getting easy for Dortmund now as they break on the counter-attack and Morey picks out Sancho. The defenders sit back and give him more space and he fires his third goal of the game into the net. 6-1 Dortmund!
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