Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund overcomes Schalke in Ruhr derby; Bayern Munich stay second

Jadon Sancho scored a late winner as Borussia Dortmund went nine points clear at the top with a 2-1 victory over bitter rivals Schalke in the Ruhr valley derby, leaving defending champions Bayern Munich on 27 points after Saturday’s matches in the Bundesliga.

Sancho, who has already scored five goals and assisted six this season, finished off a quick counter-attack having started it by himself in the 74^th minute after Thomas Delaney had put Dortmund ahead seven minutes into the encounter.

The victory, Dortmund’s first since 2015, took them to 36 points from 14 games even as Schalke battle to remain alive after their second defeat in four league games.

Delaney had given Dortmund the lead with a glancing header from Marco Reus’ free-kick while the home team dealt with a heavy blow after watching their last fit striker Guido Burgstaller limp off towards the end of the first half.

They were already missing forwards Mark Uth, Franco di Santo and Breel Embolo and with Burgstaller’s injury their fate looked to have been sealed but Schalke earned a penalty with Daniel Caligiuri bringing them level at the hour mark.

Sancho then scored the winner to secure Dortmund’s fifth straight league win dedicating the goal to his late grandmother, who passed away earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich continued their resurgence in the league with their third straight unbeaten game after beating Nurnberg 3-0 in the Bavarian derby to cut down Dortmund’s lead at the top to nine points.

Forward Robert Lewandowski scored a first-half brace while Franck Ribery added a third in the 56^th minute to complete Bayern’s first league win in five home matches. It was also the reigning champions’ third straight win all competitions.

Bayern are on 27 points from 14 games, while Nurnberg are just two points off the relegation zone.

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