Donyell Malen scored a first-half brace as Borussia Dortmund eased to a 3-0 home victory over Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Friday.
Striker Niclas Fuellkrug, celebrating his 31st birthday, laid on both goals for the Netherlands winger, before grabbing one of his own in the dying stages.
The win sends Dortmund four points clear of fifth-placed RB Leipzig, with the Saxons playing at Augsburg on Saturday. Malen, who was linked with a move away from Dortmund in the winter transfer window, has now scored four goals in his last four games. "From the start we had the right intensity and scored at the right moments," Malen told DAZN. "We've made some good steps since (the) winter (break)." Dortmund have taken 13 points from five league games to boost their bid for a Champions League place. "I wished for a win for my birthday -- and maybe a bit of birthday cake as well," Fuellkrug told DAZN.
Coach Edin Terzic could call on the services of several returning first-team players, including Marco Reus, Julian Brandt and Julian Ryerson, along with Englishman Jadon Sancho, who started on the bench.