Borussia Dortmund boosted their bid for Europa League qualification by easing to a 2-0 victory over Hertha Berlin at Signal Iduna Park.
Hertha started the day just three points above the bottom three in the Bundesliga, and they made a disastrous start when some poor marking allowed Neven Subotic to head in from a Henrikh Mkhitaryan corner.
The lead could have been doubled just a few moments later, but Mkhitaryan managed to fire wide after creating space for himself inside the box.
Hertha enjoyed an extended spell of possession midway through the first half as Dortmund dropped off, but a lack of creativity ensured that the hosts were rarely threatened as the visitors went in search of a way back into the game.
Dortmund might have lost their advantage just before the interval had Valentin Stocker not fired over after being picked out on the edge of the box.
Jurgen Klopp's side were on top early in the second half, and a clever pass from Mkhitaryan created the chance for Erik Durm to fire home the second of the match as Hertha's vulnerable defence offered too much space once again.
Some persistent play from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out wide earned Dortmund a chance to wrap up the win, but Ilkay Gundogan could only drag wide from a promising position.
Hertha's best chance to get back in the game was wasted when Peter Pekarik sent a shot wide of the target, and Dortmund went on to cruise to all three points and move up to seventh.
Callum Mulvihill
