Dortmund top after triumphing in Nuremberg
Reuters - Friday 03 February 2012, 22:09
Champions Borussia Dortmund
opened a three-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga after a
2-0 win at Nuremberg on Friday stretched their unbeaten run to
14 league games.
On a freezing Bavarian evening, with temperatures hovering
around -15 Celsius, captain Sebastian Kehl gave his team a
deserved lead in the 48th minute when he slotted the ball in
with his left foot following a Lukasz Piszczek layoff.
Paraguay international Lucas Barrios, who turned down
several offers of a move earlier this week, snatched his first
goal of the season 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute,
tapping in from two metres in the 82nd.
Dortmund, on a four-match winning streak, have 43 points
from 20 matches.
Nuremberg made a promising start and twice went close in the
opening minutes through Tomas Pekhart before Dortmund upped the
tempo to create a string of scoring chances.
The only sour note for coach Jurgen Klopp's team was an
ankle injury sustained by Sven Bender that forced the midfielder
off early in the game.
"It was not easy for us today and that makes this win all
the more special," Klopp told reporters. "Nuremberg were only
really dangerous on set pieces and we had to be patient."
Nuremberg are 14th on 21 points after recording their second
straight defeat.