Borussia Dortmund’s Gonzalo Castro (left) and team mate Julian Weigl celebrate their opening goal in their German Cup semi-final against Hertha BSC Berlin in Berlin on Wednesday. Dortmund won 3-0. (Photo: AP)
Borussia Dortmund’s Gonzalo Castro (left) and team mate Julian Weigl celebrate their opening goal in their German Cup semi-final against Hertha BSC Berlin in Berlin on Wednesday. Dortmund won 3-0. (Photo: AP)
Borussia Dortmund will face Bayern Munich in the German Cup final on May 21 after their comprehensive 3-0 semi-final win at Hertha Berlin on Wednesday.
A first-half goal by Gonzalo Castro, plus late second-half strikes from wingers Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan sealed Dortmund’s deserved win at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
The victory sends Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund team back to the same Cup final venue in a month’s time.
“I am very happy with the manner and vein of the victory,” said Tuchel as his side exorcised the bitter disappointment of last Thursday’s 3-4 Europa League defeat at Liverpool.
“I need to pay the team a really fat compliment. We deserved the win.”
Munich’s 2-0 win over Werder Bremen on Tuesday means that Germany’s top two teams will meet again when Dortmund play Bayern in a repeat of the 2012 and 2014 Cup finals.
Dortmund were dealt a blow before kick-off as top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dropped out with a foot injury.
His place against Hertha went to Colombia striker Adrian Ramos, who scored twice in Sunday’s 3-0 league win over Hamburg.
Dortmund took the lead when Mkhitaryan won the ball on the right, Shinji Kagawa fired in the cross and Castro was unmarked on the edge of the area to blast home on 21 minutes.
It was a weak start from Hertha who seemed overawed by the occasion at their sold out 76,233 stadium as Dortmund dominated the early stages.
