Giovanni Reyna came off the bench to provide the game-winning assist for Borussia Dortmund as they came away with the win over Mainz to cut the points gap on the Bundesliga leaders.
Mainz 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund now sits four points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich as a late goal from Axel Witsel helped them to the win over Mainz at the Mewa Arena.
Giovanni Reyna came off the bench to play the final 21 minutes of the game, completing 60 percent of his passes and winning two duels along with one shot on target. Lennard Maloney was an unused substitute for this game.
With a game in hand over the leaders, BVB was determined to get a positive result out of this game. However, the first half would be a testy affair as both teams tussled, leaving the referee no choice but to issue yellow cards.
It was much of the same in the second half as they remained scoreless. However, the visitors started to work their way into some good positions to score. Erling Haaland, who also came off the bench, had an excellent chance in the 68th minute when he put a shot on goal following a cross from Nico Schulz, but it was parried away by Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner.
Thorgan Hazard then came very close in the 73rd minute with a free-kick that just went over the bar.
The goal BVB was looking for finally came in the 87th minute when Reyna’s free-kick into the area found Witsel, and the Belgian international struck the ball with his right foot to guide it home.
Three vital points for Dortmund that will certainly make this an exciting race for the Bundesliga crown.
Borussia Dortmund remains in second place in the standings with 56 points.