Michy Batshuayi scored the lone goal in Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 win over Hannover on Sunday.
DORTMUND, Germany -- Borussia Dortmund wrestled down Hannover 96 on Sunday, beating the promoted side 1-0 via Michy Batshuayi's clever strike from a corner. It was the most comprehensive performance in weeks by the Black and Yellows, who had several chances for a big score but were denied twice by the woodwork.
BVB kept pace with Ruhr rivals going into the international break, staying one point adrift of second-place Schalke before facing leaders Bayern Munich in two weeks.
Positives
Dortmund could not afford to drop points at home again. They've pieced together their second consecutive home win in the Bundesliga in one week. Arguably, it was their most dominant home win since a 2-0 win over a hapless Hamburg.
Negatives
BVB continue to play with fire after the break. Hannover managed to complete 22 passes in Dortmund's half in the first period, but that number more than doubled in the second. Peter Stoger's side is lacking killer instinct.
Manager rating out of 10
6 -- Dortmund are not a team to find many combinations through the middle, but Stoger turned a weakness into the strength by overloading the wings and creating breakthroughs on the flanks despite facing a back five.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Roman Burki, 7 -- It's never easy to come up with a big save out of the cold, but his great reaction to deny Pirmin Schwegler after 39 minutes secured his team a narrow half-time lead. In the second half, Burki had to come quick off his line make some vital interceptions.
DF Lukasz Piszczek, 7 -- Was very much involved in BVB's attacks, playing a few delicate passes into the box. Kept his right side shut with routine.
DF Manuel Akanji, 7 -- The Swiss international is improving steadily. With a little bit more fine tuning, teammates will get at the end of his Hollywood passes from the back. He was also not afraid to commit a professional foul to interrupt dangerous counter-attacks.
DF Omer Toprak, 7 -- Had to be subbed off at half-time because of a muscular problem. Within the 45 minutes, the centre-back comfortably dealt with Hannover's attack and found solutions in build-up play.
DF Marcel Schmelzer, 6 -- The captain could not impose himself as much on the game as his Polish counterpart.
MF Gonzalo Castro, 6 -- Mixed intelligent through balls with unforced giveaways. Was taken off after 64 minutes as BVB became too passive in midfield.
MF Mahmoud Dahoud, 8 -- Dahoud has a good instinct for when and where his teammates will lose the ball so he can be there for the rebound. Fans are witnessing the 22-year-old grow into a midfield boss.
MF Christian Pulisic, 6 -- Had good combination sequences with his teammates in extremely tight spaced on the right wing. His crosses into the box missed his teammates, however.
MF Mario Gotze, 6 -- Showed a positive reaction after being taken off at half-time and criticised after Thursday's scoreless draw in the Europa League. A lively performance but Gotze can still do better.
MF Andre Schurrle, 7 -- Nearly scored a cheeky Olympic goal off a corner but Philipp Tschauner had it covered. The next corner led to an assist. Schurrle found Batshuayi a few times more but the striker couldn't convert.
FW Michy Batshuayi, 7 -- Was denied by the post less than one minute into the game. Opened the scoring after 24 minutes with an audacious back-heel to direct Schurrle's corner toward the net. He had enough chances to bag a hat trick on Sunday.
Substitutes
DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 6 -- The defender replaced the injured Toprak at half-time. Could replicate the defensive effort but not Toprak's play on the ball.
MF Julian Weigl, 6 -- Was brought on shortly after the hour mark to reduce giveaways in midfield. BVB regained more control after his substitution.
MF Maximilian Philipp, 6 -- His fresh legs made life hard after coming on for Pulisic with 20 minutes to go. Had the decider on his foot in the penultimate minute of regular time but hit the post.
Stefan Buczko covers Borussia Dortmund for ESPN FC. Twitter: @StefanBuczko.
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Source: espn.co.uk