Dortmund ease past Bielefeld 3-1 despite Haaland absence

Borussia Dortmund scored first-half goals through Emre Can and Mats Hummels before a sensational effort by Jude Bellingham wrapped up a 3-1 victory at Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.

Playing without striker Erling Haaland, who is sidelined for several weeks with a hip injury, Dortmund were never troubled as they secured a seventh league win from nine matches.

They remain in second place with 21 points, one adrift of Bayern Munich who thumped Hoffenheim 4-0.

After Dortmund's 4-0 midweek demolition by Ajax Amsterdam, the Ruhr valley club were desperate to make amends even though they were missing half a dozen players on top of Haaland.

"Overall it was a deserved win and it was a good reaction (to the midweek loss)," Dortmund coach Marco Rose said.

"It was a bit rocky at the start of the game but we controlled it better in the second half and that third goal killed off the match," he said. "I would have wished to have kept a clean sheet after that."

Dortmund have has conceded more Bundesliga goals this season than lowly Bielefeld who have yet to win a game.

They had a pair of early chances through Donyell Malen but Bielefeld came even closer when Janni Serra pounced on a mistake by defender Marin Pongracic but failed to beat keeper Gregor Kobel.

Dortmund opened the scoring with Can's 31st minute penalty before they doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime with defender Hummels' stunning 20-metre volley.

Central defender Hummels became the only active player in the Bundesliga to score at least one goal in the last 14 seasons.

Bellingham made sure of the three points in the 73rd minute, dribbling past three players and then delightfully chipping keeper Stefan Ortega for a remarkable goal by the 18-year-old.

A late penalty by Fabian Klos cut the deficit for the hosts but they remain second-bottom on five points.