Galatasaray vs. Borussia Dortmund: Score, Grades, Reaction from Champions League

Borussia Dortmund already have one foot in the knockout stages of the Champions League after they extended their 100 percent start to Group D with a 4-0 victory over Galatasaray on Wednesday.

The three points were secured well before half-time in Istanbul after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang notched twice in the opening 18 minutes before Marco Reus, in his second game after returning from injury, notched a third five minutes before the break.

Galatasaray failed to produce a rally of any note in the second half before substitute Adrian Ramos rounded off the scoring for the visitors in the 83rd minute.

With Anderlecht losing 2-1 to Arsenal in the other group game, Cesare Prandelli’s side now sit bottom of Group D on goal difference—and know they will need to get something out of the return fixture in Dortmund in two weeks’ time if they are to have any lingering hope of reaching the last 16 of the competition.

For Dortmund, however, that result means Jurgen Klopp knows his side will book their place in the next phase of the competition with a repeat victory.

"The start was very difficult for us, afterwards we did well and scored all our chances," Dortmund defender Neven Subotic said, per UEFA.com. "The match was over after 30 minutes, after that we let them run after us."

Having erred so clearly with his decision to start with a three-man defence in the previous match against Arsenal, Prandelli reverted to a four-man system this time around, with Goran Pandev and Wesley Sneijder tasked with supporting Burak Yilmaz in attack.

Dortmund named a strong side, with Aubameyang leading the line and Reus playing off him, and they were ahead after only six minutes. Henrikh Mkhitaryan showed good awareness to release Reus down the left wing and his curling cross into the box was side-footed home at the back post by the alert Aubameyang.

The home side immediately tried to push forward in search of an equaliser, but Dortmund were already purring on the counter-attack, and 12 minutes after the opener they had doubled their advantage. The goal was almost a mirror image of the first; Lukasz Piszczek the provider this time as he ran beyond Alex Telles on the right and picked out Aubameyang with another brilliant ball.

Aubameyang had to adjust his body slightly to turn the ball home, but it was an emphatic finish nonetheless.

Uncredited/Associated Press

The Gabon international could have had his hat-trick soon after, hitting the post with the goal at his mercy after Mkhitaryan had again played provider. Shinji Kagawa (who later went off with an injury) also missed a great opportunity—shooting straight at Fernando Muslera—as it was left to the returning Reus to put the result beyond all doubt.

It was a brilliant goal from the striker, who was given too much time and space 25 yards out as he crashed a brilliant shot over beyond Muslera and into the top corner.

"

Goal of the night. Marco Reus. take a bow! http://t.co/qwexXVIoPk

— Football Vines (@FootballVines) October 22, 2014"

The second half saw less excitement, as Galatasaray dominated large spells of the game but struggled horribly to create any clear-cut opportunities. An injury to Sven Bender saw the midfielder withdrawn soon after the break, with Matthias Ginter replacing him.

It was Dortmund’s two other substitutes, however, who combined to round off the scoring on the night. Ilkay Gundogan played Adrian Ramos in behind the back line with seven minutes remaining, and the forward made no mistake as he slotted his shot past Muslera to complete a convincing win for the German side.

After a poor run of recent results in domestic action, this was a welcome performance for Dortmund. The improvements in form and fitness being shown by Reus and Gundogan will be of particular delight to the club, although the injuries to Kagawa and Bender will be monitored with a certain amount of apprehension.

"We played with a lot of concentration, had no problems in defence and our fast breaks were very dangerous," Mats Hummels concluded, again per UEFA.com. "Besides that we were very effective—two chances, two goals. This is what our opponents did in the last few Bundesliga matches."  

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Player Ratings

Player	Rating
Fernando Muslera	6
Alex Telles	5
Aurelien Chedjou	7
Semih Kaya	6
Tarik Camdal	6
Felipe Melo	7
Hamit Altintop	5
Selcuk Inan	6
Wesley Sneijder	6
Burak Yilmaz	5
Goran Pandev	6
Substitutions
Blerim Dzemaili	6
Yasin Oztekin	6
Emre Colak	6

Player	Rating
Roman Weidenfeller	6
Lukasz Piszczek	7
Nevan Subotic	7
Mats Hummels	7
Sokratis Papastathopoulos	7
Sebastian Kehl	6
Sven Bender	7
Shinji Kagawa	7
Henrikh Mkhitaryan	8
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	8
Marco Reus	8
Substitutions
Matthias Ginter	6
Ilkay Gundogan	6
Adrian Ramos	7

What's Next?

These two teams play in the reverse fixture in Germany in two weeks' time.