SHINJI KAGAWA DOESN’T score headed goals too often but which is rare is wonderful and so it proved for him and Borussia Dortmund earlier today.
In the intense atmosphere of the Ruhr derby against rivals Schalke, the former Manchester United midfielder opened the scoring after Matthias Ginter lofted a perfect cross into the area for the Japanese international to power to the net.
“I was surprised myself, I didn’t expect to score with my head”, he said afterwards.
But in what was a rip-roaring encounter, Dortmund were pegged back just three minutes later when Klass Jan-Huntelaar was teed up by local product Leroy Sane.
Still, the hosts went to the break in front when the impressive Ginter got on the end of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s corner with another header.
And within minutes of the restart, Dortmund extended their lead when the unstoppable Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 3-1 with his 14th top-flight goal of the season and 24th in all competitions.
Huntelaar made it interesting when he grabbed his second with less than twenty minutes left but Dortmund did enough and continue their excellent debut season under Thomas Tuchel with only a couple of costly results earlier in the campaign blotting their copybook.
Dortmund were without the in-form Marco Reus due to injury and Aubameyang was quick to remember his friend after the game.
“We put in a very good performance, and we deserved to win in the end. I’m very happy that I scored. Going 3-1 up did us a lot of good, but it didn’t decide the game. I’m dedicating my goal to Marco.”
Dortmund have now scored 71 goals this season in all competitions but still trail Bayern Munich by five points in the Bundesliga table.
