Striker scores brace to send club within one win of Bundesliga glory with 3-0 win over Augsburg
\nBERLIN:
\nBorussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller said his side were achieving \u201csomething beautiful\u201d after a 3-0 victory at Augsburg on Sunday sent them within one win of the Bundesliga title.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s just unbelievable. If someone told me I would be in this situation six months ago, I wouldn\u2019t have believed them,\u201d an emotional Haller told DAZN.
\nHaller was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly after signing with Dortmund and underwent four rounds of chemotherapy and two operations, missing six months before returning in January.
\nDortmund sat in sixth place in January, but have lost just one of their 18 matches in the league since Haller returned.
\nDortmund are now two points clear with one match remaining, a rare occurrence after a decade of Bayern Munich dominance.
\nThe final round of games kick off at the same time next Saturday. To lift the Bundesliga shield for the first time since 2011-12, Dortmund will need a victory at home against Mainz only if Bayern win at Cologne.
\nIf Bayern draw or lose, Dortmund will be champions even if they lose.
\nGerman tabloid Bild rejoiced after the win, running the headline \u201cHaller-luja, Dortmund close in on the title\u201d.
\nEven though Dortmund dominated and Augsburg were reduced to 10 men late in the first half, the game was scoreless until the 58th minute, when Haller pounced on an error by a defender to score the opener.
\nHe added another from a rebound with the clock winding down, sending the visiting fans into raptures. Julian Brandt struck in injury time to seal the result.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re very happy, but not completely satisfied,\u201d Dortmund manager Edin Terzic told DAZN. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a next step we need to take\u201d.
\nA \u201chappy and proud\u201d Haller told DAZN: \u201cWe\u2019ve got a huge chance to achieve something big.\u201d
\nAugsburg manager Enrico Maassen said \u201cthe red card was the crucial moment… you can give it, but that\u2019s a hard decision.\u201d
\nDortmund, who came into the game knowing victory would put them in control of the title race, but made the trip without injured midfielder Jude Bellingham, were winless on the road since February.
\nDortmund, who had scored 11 goals in their past two games, controlled the first half but could not find a breakthrough, Haller forcing a fingertip save from Tomas Koubek.
\nShortly before half-time last-man Felix Uduokhai earned a red card, bringing down Donyell Malen on the edge of the penalty box.
\nHaller finally broke through for the visitors, snapping up a loose ball before spinning and threading the ball into the far corner.
\nWith just over five minutes remaining, Haller repeated the trick, pouncing on a rebound from a Marco Reus shot to put Dortmund 2-0 up, sending the visiting fans into a chant of \u201cGerman champions, only Dortmund\u201d.
\nWith the clock winding down, Dortmund captain Mats Hummels was helped off the field after taking a boot to the face.
\nThe centre-back\u2019s replacement, Nico Schlotterbeck, put the ball through for Brandt to score a third.
\nEarlier, a goal and two assists from substitute Chris Fuehrich gave Stuttgart a massive boost in their relegation fight, with a 4-1 win away at Mainz.
\nBrought on with 30 minutes remaining and the scores locked 1-1, Fuehrich laid on a goal for Serhou Guirassy just two minutes later, before adding one of his own.
\nThe winger set up another goal in injury time for Tanguy Coulibaly to take his side from the relegation places to the safety of 15th with one matchday remaining.
\nIn Sunday\u2019s late game, sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen can improve their chances of European football next season with a win at home against Borussia Moenchengladbach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Striker scores brace to send club within one win of Bundesliga glory with 3-0 win over Augsburg BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller said his side were achieving \u201csomething beautiful\u201d after a 3-0 victory at Augsburg on Sunday sent them within one win of the Bundesliga title. \u201cIt\u2019s just unbelievable. If someone told me I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332936,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-332919","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n