Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Schalke 04: 5 talking points

A pall of gloom descended over a confident Roberto Di Matteo as he saw his side Schalke go down 3-0 to a recovering Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion in the 146th Ruhr derby.The home side were clearly the better team going forward but their inability to take the opportunities that they got meant that the game was all square until the 78th minute, when the deadlock was finally broken by Aubameyang who was teed up by Mkhitaryan, as he slotted home from close range after a free-kick was not fully cleared.The Armenian then piled on, with his first league goal of the season, just two minutes later before Marco Reus was gifted the third goal of the evening four minutes from time. A fourth straight victory in the Bundesliga helped Dortmund climb to 10th place in the standing and here are the 5 talking points from the clash:

#1 Dortmund\'s revival continues

The 2014/15 Bundesliga season has been nothing but catastrophic for the Westfalonstadion outfit, who came into the new year with just four wins and were reeling at the bottom of the table. However, the last three weeks have seen a massive upturn in Dortmund's fortunes, which has helped them come back from the edge.

It all started against Freiburg at the start of last month when they thoroughly beat them 3-0. Dortmund played the next 2 games in the same vein and racked up favourable results.

The Schalke game last night was a litmus test of their mini-revival, but all doubts were put to rest when they comprehensively outclassed their local rivals to register their fourth win on the trot.

The result sees the Black and Yellows climb to 10th position and one can very well deduce now that Dortmund's resurgence has gained strong momentum.

#2 Who needs Immobile when you have Aubameyang?

The midweek Champions League clash against Juventus saw Jurgen Klopp deploy his customary 4-2-3-1 formation with Ciro Immobile as the target man. The Italian was underwhelming in the 2-1 defeat and in last night's game where Klopp effectuated the same formation, he was relegated to the bench and was replaced by Aubameyang upfront.

The decision proved to be a coup de maitre as the Gabonese international was absolutely terrific in the role of a striker.

The 25-year old was a constant menace going forward and gave a harrowing time to the Schalke defence with his electrifying pace. His buccaneering runs allowed him to penetrate the Schalke defence effortlessly and also began the rout in the 78th minute. His goal in the derby last night takes his tally to 10 in the league, seven more than his Italian counterpart.

If the pacy Aubameyang continues to pull off such top-drawer performances, then Immobile’s hopes of making it to the starting XI are as good as over.

#3 Timon Wellenreuther a potential star in the making

With the Royal Blues' No.1 choice in goal Ralf Fahrmann still recuperating from his posterior cruciate ligament injury, a 19-year Timon Wellenreuther was handed only his fourth start of the season and he showed why he deserves more than that.

The scoreline would suggest that Schalke were handed a chastening defeat, but up until the 78th minute, it seemed as though the visitors were going away with a solitary point, thanks to the heroics of the German in goal.

Wellenreuther denied Aubameyang on several occasions and also kept Reus from making the breakthrough time and again. The home side continued to press high up the pitch, but the Schalke youth team graduate did not go down easily.

Despite being the one to blame for Dortmund’s third goal when he was caught on the ball by Reus, the young goalkeeper was very good on the day. The teenager was sensational could eventually prove to be a great goalkeeper for Schalke.

Beware, Ralf!

#4 Schalkes European ambitions continue to plummet

After a rocky start to the season, the blue half of Ruhr valley made considerable progress after Roberto Di Matteo took over as manager from Jens Keller. However, a slump in form has put paid to their hopes of continuing their rise up the table.

In the last seven league outings, the Gelsenkirchen outfit have managed to accrue just two victories and have now fallen to fifth in the standings.

Although just two points adrift of a European place, a continuation of their horrible form will see them left in the lurch especially when Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, and Monchengladbach are all in fine fettle and enjoying a decent domestic campaign.

Di Matteo has a lot of introspection to do and must do it fast as the race for European berths is heating up.

#5 Dortmund\'s attack still lacks the cutting edge

Barring their appalling defence, another major factor that has impeded Dortmund throughout the season is their inability to convert their opportunities with an appreciable degree of efficiency. And this was once again on full display in yesterday’s game.

Dortmund dominated and deservedly won the game, but squandered way too many opportunities to kill the game off early on and should not have had to wait for so long for the first goal.

The home side were better right from the word go, created umpteen chances, but their incapability to convert them highlighted the fact that clinical finishing is the one area where they really need to look into if they are to reassert their status in Bundesliga.

Also, with the might of Juventus making their way to Westfalenstadion in 10 days time, Die Borussen need to hone their finishing skills if they are to harbour any hopes of progressing to the next stage in Europe's elite competition.