By Derek Wilson, dpa
Berlin (dpa) – Borussia Dortmund recovered from their midweek disappointment to defeat SV Hamburg 3-0 in the Bundesliga Sunday and cut the gap to league leaders Bayern Munich while Mainz lost ground in the European race with a 3-2 defeat at home to Cologne.
Dortmund are now seven points behind Bayern but with only four matches remaining, two more wins will give the Munich side a fourth consecutive title.
Goals from Marcel Risse, Milos Jojic and Anthony Modeste earned Cologne the win at Mainz who had led through Jhon Cordoba and Leon Balogun early in the second half.
The win lifted Cologne to 10th in the table, six points clear of the relegation play-off place, while Mainz remain sixth with the defeat having missed the chance to move within one point of fourth-placed Hertha Berlin.
Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel made several changes to the team which lost dramatically to Liverpool in the Europa League Thursday his side rode their luck early on. However, goals from 17-year-old Christian Pulisic and Adrian Ramos had them two up at the interval and, with Hamburg keeper Rene Adler red carded in the 52nd minute, Ramos added a late third.
«We did not have the completely best form in every position,» Tuchel said after his side struggled to impose themselves in the opening half hour against Hamburg. «It felt very tough but we have won 3-0 and are very happy.»
Hamburg drop to 12th and are only three points above the relegation play-off place but had started positively in search of important points.
«We should have gone in front then we would have had a great chance of taking something,» Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia said.
Ivo Ilicevic headed over when he should have scored and fired off target having dribbled along the edge of the box.
But the best chance came when substitute Sven Schipplock, on for the injured Pierre-Michel Lasogga, pounced on an error from Sven Bender but failed to find Nicolai Mueller for tap-in as Mats Hummels blocked his cross.
«We had good opportunities but unfortunately failed to get the goal,»
Schipplock said.
Dortmund went in front in 38 minutes when a well-worked corner routine saw Hummels feed Pulisic, one of eight changes in the starting 11, who found the net past Adler from 14 yards for his first Bundesliga goal.
«It feels amazing, even more since the team won,» Pulisic said.
And 60 seconds before the break the tie was effectively settled when Ramos, another who was recalled, cut inside to shoot into the far corner after Hamburg lost the ball in midfield.
Adler was dismissed seven minutes after the restart for bringing down Shinji Kagawa and Hamburg finished with nine men as Albin Ekdal went off injured with all three substitues committed.
Ramos grabbed his second in the dying minutes when subsitute keeper Jaroslav Drobny could only parry a deflected shot into his path six-yards from goal.
Mainz went in front after eight minutes against Cologne as Cordoba slammed home from close-range following a corner kick.
Cologne offered little in the first period and fell further behind when Balogun headed in Daniel Brosinski’s free kick four minutes after the restart.
But Risse’s drive from distance cut the deficit in 64 and Jojic prodded home following a defensive mistake to level 10 minutes later.
«That simply can’t happen, we have to defend better,» Mainz’s Julian Baumgartlinger said. «It’s a set-back.»
And with just eight minutes remaining Modeste ended a five-game scoring drought by volleying in Matthias Lehmann’s chipped past to secure all three points.
«The people who have come in (to the team), have done brilliantly,» Cologne’s Dominique Heintz said. «That highlights in our team that we’re a unit.»
