Borussia Dortmund have, as expected, confirmed their place in the last 32 of the Europa League. Three days before their Ruhr derby against Schalke 04, BVB strolled to a comfortable 4-0 win over Gabala FK, with Germany international Marco Reus also getting on the scoresheet. It was Dortmund’s third win from their fourth group game and saw them reach their first milestone of securing a spot in the knockout stages, with contesting the final their long-term goal.
Reus, who didn’t return from the changing room after half time after picking up a knock, fired Borussia into the lead, before strikes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as a Sergei Zenjov own goal, ensured Thomas Tuchel’s side claimed all three points in front of 57,000 spectators at the Signal Iduna Park.
Schalke fall short of early progression
Schalke were also looking to repeat their early-season success in the Europa League and go into the 147th Ruhr derby on the back of a positive result. The Royal Blues could only manage a 1-1 draw against Sparta Prague and as a result will have to wait to secure their place in the final 32. André Breitenreiter's side go into Sunday's clash with rivals Borussia Dortmund as underdogs, with just one win in their last seven games.
68 hours before the derby, in which sporting director Horst Heldt expects "a real battle," the side from Gelsenkirchen began poorly. After going behind to an early goal from David Lafata, Johannes Geis equalised from the penalty spot. As the game progressed, the visitors' play merited the three points, but they failed to secure the win that would have given them a real boost before Sunday's crunch match. Schalke do, however, retain top spot in Group K and remain in an excellent position to progress to the knockout rounds.
Augsburg back on track
They may sit at the bottom of the Bundesliga table, but Augsburg are on impressive form in Europe. Thanks to a superb performance from Raul Bobadilla on matchday four, they have given themselves a great chance of progressing to the knockout stages with a 4-1 win over AZ Alkmaar. Bobadilla scored a hat-trick in highly-deserved win, whilst Dong-won Ji scored the other for the home side. The victory puts Augsburg level on points with Partizan Belgrade (6 points), behind group leaders Athletic Bilbao (9 points), who they meet on matchday five .
Bobadilla was unplayable on the night, as he led the Augsburg attack, winning back possession and delivering the goods in front of goal. His first came from a free kick from 25 yards, before he added a second just nine minutes later. Vincent Janssen pulled one back just before the break, and just as Alkamar looked like they might score an equaliser in the second half, Ji scored a third for Augsburg before Bobadilla completed his hat-trick with the fourth.