Erling Haaland has started the 2021/22 season as he undoubtedly means to go on, scoring a hat-trick in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 victory away to Wehen Wiesbaden in the DFB Cup first round. Axel Witsel also made his Borussia Dortmund return following the injury picked up in January.
The reigning cup holders sent out an early statement of their intent, with Haaland going around goalkeeper Florian Stritzel inside the first minute, only to see his effort from a tight angle cleared off the line. Undeterred, Marco Rose’s side continued to dominate and went close again when Marco Reus’ 25-yard free-kick was tipped around the post by Stritzel. Dortmund soon got the breakthrough their superiority deserved though, when Haaland latched onto Reus’ superb pass to prod home from 16 yards. The Norwegian striker doubled his and his team’s tally moments later from the penalty spot, sending Stritzel the wrong way to put BVB firmly in the driving seat at the interval.
If the hosts had any hopes of staging a second-half comeback, Haaland made sure they would not come to fruition shortly after the restart when he collected Gio Reyna’s pass inside the box. His initial shot was well saved by Stritzel, but the Dortmund No.9 was quickest to the rebound and poked over the line from close range. To their credit, Wiesbaden refused to give in and they went close a couple of times, first when Maximilian Thiel got behind Felix Passlack to cross, before Kevin Lankford headed over from a short distance. Summer signing Donyell Malen made his competitive debut for Dortmund late on and almost crowned the occasion with a goal, only to see Stritzel make another fine save. It ultimately mattered little though; the night belonged to Haaland as Dortmund sealed their place in the second round.
