Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Schalke: Haaland scores in Dortmund win on Bundesliga return - BBC Sport
Erling Braut Haaland scores for Borussia Dortmund as they mark the return of the Bundesliga during the coronavirus outbreak with a convincing derby win over Schalke.
Last updated on .From the section European Football

Erling Braut Haaland scored for Borussia Dortmund as they marked the return of the Bundesliga during the coronavirus outbreak with a convincing derby win over Schalke.

The game will mostly be remembered for the surreal circumstances in which it was played, as Germany became the first major league in Europe to resume action behind closed doors.

There was an eerie atmosphere at Dortmund's iconic Signal Iduna Park stadium, with every shout by players or coaches audible, and social distancing protocol followed by substitutes and during goal celebrations.

Haaland opened the scoring with a trademark cool finish, flicking home Thorgen Hazard's cross to continue his sensational season, albeit after an enforced break of almost 10 weeks.

Raphael Guerreiro added two more goals and Hazard also found the net as Dortmund went on to claim a comfortable win over their near neighbours and move within a point of leaders Bayern Munich, who play on Sunday.
• None Relive Germany's return to football as Dortmund hit four

Elite-level football might be back in Europe, but it certainly has a different feel about it than it did two months ago.

Strict hygiene protocols saw the Dortmund and Schalke players arrive on multiple buses, use several changing rooms and then enter the pitch by different routes.

Warm-ups were staggered and the coaching staff and substitutes wore masks and were all separated by two metres as they took their place on the sidelines.

Once the balls had been disinfected by the ball-boys, the game began in total silence, only pierced by the referee's whistle for kick-off, before being played out to the sound of echoed applause or yelled instructions from the dug-outs.

Fans were completely absent from the 80,000-capacity stadium but that did not stop the Dortmund players performing their trademark salute to the empty stands at the final whistle - standing apart rather than holding hands of course.

The backdrop to the game made for a strange spectacle, but it did nothing to disrupt Haaland's fine form even if it was 70 days on from his last Bundesliga appearance.

With the rest of Europe watching on, Dortmund's 19-year-old Norwegian wonderkid reminded everyone of his precocious talent as he scored one goal, and helped make another.

Haaland now has hit 10 goals in his first nine Bundesliga appearances - and 13 in 12 games in all competitions - since his January move from Red Bull Salzburg and his prolific scoring rate shows no sign of slowing up.

Another of Dortmund's highly-rated young talents, England forward Jadon Sancho, was restricted to an 11-minute cameo off the bench, because of a calf injury.

On-loan Everton full-back Jonjoe Kenny started for Schalke, who brought on Wales winger Rabbi Matondo as one of their five substitutes - two more than usual are permitted under the new regulations for the Bundesliga's restart.
• None Alessandro Schöpf (FC Schalke 04) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt missed. Rabbi Matondo (FC Schalke 04) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Bastian Oczipka.
• None Rabbi Matondo (FC Schalke 04) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Substitution, Borussia Dortmund. Jadon Sancho replaces Thorgan Hazard because of an injury.
• None Attempt missed. Salif Sané (FC Schalke 04) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Bastian Oczipka with a cross following a corner.
• None Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
• None Attempt missed. Guido Burgstaller (FC Schalke 04) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a set piece situation. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page