Dortmund outclass Werder Bremen to tighten grip on 2nd spot

Serhou Guirassy scored his first league goal since October as Borussia Dortmund beat Werder Bremen 3-0 at home on Tuesday and restore their four-point buffer in second spot.

Nico Schlotterbeck and Marcel Sabitzer scored while Guirassy responded to being benched for the first time this season by tapping in late after Jobe Bellingham pressed Bremen into a mistake.

Stuttgart's 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in the evening moved the German Cup holders within a point but 2024 Champions League finalists Dortmund responded with a controlled but unspectacular performance.

Dortmund moved to eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich, who play away at Koln on Wednesday.

Schlotterbeck, Dortmund's captain and standout player this season, put his side in front with a regulation header from a corner 11 minutes in.

The hosts were sloppy with the ball and disorganised without it in the opening half but Bremen lacked the quality to punish them.

Dortmund left the field to the sound of isolated boos and whistles at half-time from their 82,000-strong home crowd.

Making his 250th Bundesliga appearance, Sabitzer put nervy Dortmund two ahead with a 76th-minute goal, guiding the ball into the bottom left corner.

Benched in favour of former Wolves striker Fabio Silva, Guirassy came on midway through the second half and was in the right place to score when Bellingham won the ball with seven minutes left.