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Dortmund cruise 7-2 past Odd in UEFA Europa League play-offs

Xinhua, August 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Borussia Dortmund came from behind to crush Norwegian outfit Odds BK 7-2 following the second leg of UEFA Europa League play-offs on Thursday.

Despite a powerful start, Dortmund suffered a setback as Odd's Ole Jorgen Halvorsen opened the scoring against the run of the game. However, Dortmund turned up and came from behind thanks to the hat rick by Marco Reus, the brace by Shinji Kagawa and goals by Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Guendogan securing the ticket for the UEFA Europa League group-stage.

Thomas Tuchel's men controlled the proceedings from the kick-off working out a couple of goal scoring opportunities in the opening period. Nevertheless, it were the visitors from Norway, who opened the scoring against the run of the game as Halvorsen headed home a corner at the far post in the 19th minute.

The hosts remained unimpressed and responded six minutes later when Mkhitaryan unleashed a 20-meter hammer into the top right corner to restore parity. It took Dortmund just another two minutes to turn the tides as Reus made use of Guendogan's square pass inside the box to make it 2-1 one the scoreboards.

Dortmund gained momentum as Reus extended the lead after utilizing a volley cross by Mkhitaryan inside the box in the 32nd minute. Odd were unable to hold the pace with the "BVB" as Kagawa made it 4-1 just before the break after capitalizing on a deflected square pass.

After the restart, the hosts started where they left off, as Odd's goalkeeper Sondre Rossbach was unable to deny Guendogan's long-range effort at the 51st minute. Reus was again in the thick of things and wrapped up his hat rick six minutes later to make it 6-1.

The visitors showed a vital sign at the 64th minute when Oliver Berg reduced the arrears to 6-2 out of the blue before Kagawa sealed his brace to round off the 7-2 victory on home soil.

"Despite the early goal against us I'm satisfied with our performance as we immediately responded with number of promising chances and goals," Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said after the game.

The draw for the UEFA Europa League group-stage will be held on Friday. Endi