Dortmund don't give up their UCL spot and easily cruise past Hoffenheim

With an eventual victory at Signal Iduna Park, Hoffenheim had a chance to leapfrog Borussia Dortmund and take their spot in the Champions League zone. Yet, there was no such luck for Christian Ilzer's crew.

The visitors held up really well during the opening half, but Julian Brandt's deadlock-breaker just two minutes before the break absolutely crushed their will.

Niko Kovac's men exploited that demoralization to double their lead in the 60th minute over Nico Schlotterbeck, and thus, made sure the three points stayed in Dortmund - 2-0.

A genuine "snoozefest" could be seen at Signal Iduna Park during the first half of the duel. Apart from Serhou Guirassy's unsuccessful penalty appeal, nothing notable happened, as Borussia's renowned "Yellow Wall" could see two strong defensive walls and a bunch of uninspired attackers.

Until Julian Brandt broke both the silence and the deadlock two minutes before the break! A quick attack over the right flank, a nice combination of Karim Adeyemi and Yan Couto, and Dortmund's #10's easy execution for a more peaceful half-time talk of the home crew's boss, Niko Kovac.

As if the opener just before the break disheartened the visitors a bit, they were nowhere near as sturdy as in the first 45 minutes, and were shortly punished - again after a "three-move action." Couto once again crossed the ball, Felix Nmecha left a nice return pass for Nico Schlotterbeck, and the defender unleashed a powerful effort into the net, doubling Dortmund's lead at the hour mark.

Ruthless, more ruthless, Bayern Munich! Merciless, more merciless, Harry Kane!

To be fair, Hoffenheim switched to the higher gear in the final quarter of an hour, trying to - at least - make the finish of the game interesting and unpredictable, but all their attempts were futile and mild. On the other hand, Borussia's victory could have been even more convincing, as Guirassy hit the bar in the last minute of the match.

BUNDESLIGA ROUND 13

Friday

Mainz - M'gladbach 0-1 (0-0)

/Da Costa 58 (og)/

Saturday

Augsburg - Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 (2-0)

/Giannoulis 6, Kade 28/

Heidenheim - Freiburg 2-1 (0-1)

/Mainka 59, Schimmer 90+4 - Manzambi 40/

Koln - St. Pauli 1-0 (0-0)

/El Mala 51/

Stuttgart - Bayern Munich 0-5 (0-1)

/Laimer 11, Kane 66, 82 pen, 88, Stanisic 78/

Wolfsburg - Union Berlin 3-1 (2-0)

/Wimmer 10, Amoura 30, 62, Majer 59 - Nsoki 68/

RB Leipzig - Eintr. Frankfurt 6-0 (2-0)

/Harder 5, Baumgartner 31, Diomande 47, 55, 65, Raum 62 pen/

Sunday

Hamburger - Werder 3-2 (0-1)

/Lokonga 63, Vuskovic 75, Poulsen 84 - Stage 45, Njinmah 78/

Dortmund - Hoffenheim 2-0 (1-0)

/Brandt 43, Schlotterbeck 60/