Dortmund destroy Monaco in second-half surge

Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Monaco
(Bruun Larsen 51', Alcacer 72', Reus 90+2')

Lucien Favre's side made it two wins from two in Group A thanks to another substitute and a late show of attacking brilliance turned the game in Dortmund's favor.

After their impressive performances off the bench against Bayer Leverkusen, both Jadon Sancho and Paco Alcacer started for Dortmund in their home opener in the Champions League - and both made an impact.

After a balanced opening from both sides in which no real punches were landed, Youri Tielemans curled a shot that forced a good save out of Roman Bürki. At the other end, neat passing on the edge of the box led to Alcacer curling an effort just past the far post, with former Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio rooted to the spot.

Without Christian Pulisic (out with a calf tear), Dortmund had to look elsewhere for attacking inspiration. Disciplined winger Marius Wolf's turn and shot in the box nearly provided it, but Benaglio was able to push it away. In the process though, Benaglio picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Croatian keeper Danijel Subasic.

Dortmund step it up a gear

Having spent the first half warming up, Dortmund were on fire in the second. Sancho showed his quality when he spotted substitute Jacob Bruun Larsen sneaking into the box. The English teenager slipped a perfectly-timed ball through for the Dane who finished with aplomb.

Another flowing move nearly saw Dortmund add a second, but Marco Reus' shot somehow ended up behind the goal rather than in it. It sparked a flurry of beautiful football from the home side. First Reus' tricky in the box resulted in a penalty for Dortmund, but Alcacer could only smash the spot kick onto the bar. Just moments later, sub Julian Weigl threaded a great ball through for Sancho, but he dinked his effort over the goal.

Dortmund's breathtaking spell of chances looked to end without reward, but then Reus sent in Alcacer and the Spaniard showed brilliant composure to round the keeper and score past the two defenders on the line.

There was still time for the outstanding Reus to get on the scoresheet. The captain turned from provider to scorer when he finished calmly after an excellent move and cross by Bruun Larsen on the left wing. In the last three games, Dortmund have scored 14 goals. It's safe to say they've arrived in this season.

As it happened:

+++ FULL TIME! Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Monaco +++

90+2' GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Monaco (Reus)
The cherry on the icing on the cake! Bruun Larsen twists his marker inside out on the left-hand side and crosses low across the six-yard box where Reus is waiting at the back post. The captain makes no mistake and slides home the third. 

89' Bürki spills a shot from Tielemans and Falcao is waiting to pounce - but the Colombian is offside. 

84' Substitution: Jadon Sancho is suffering with a bit of cramp and is replaced, to huge applause, by Maximilan Philipp. 

83' After Reus' cross is cleared, the ball falls to Witsel on the edge of the box. The Belgian looked like he could have shot straight away but he hesitates and the chance is gone. 

79' Bruun Larsen, bursting with confidence, sets off with the ball down the left. He gets a shot away but it's too central. 

77' Monaco almost get back into the game. Falcao plays in Henrichs on the left hand side of the Dortmund box, the German crosses low and substitute Grandsir flicks the ball just wide. 

76' Time for a breather!

72' GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Monaco (Alcacer)
What a few minutes it's been at the Westfalenstadion! A missed penalty, a missed chance for Sancho but now, finally, Dortmund double their lead! Reus plays in Alacer who rounds Subasic and waits for Glik to go to ground before firing home.

71' Sancho controls Weigl's throughball brilliantly and attempts to lob the ball over the advancing Subasic but he lobs it over the bar too!

69' CROSSBAR! Paco Alcacer hits it hard down the middle but it flies down off the crossbar, onto the goalline and out. The score stays 1-0 and Monaco survive ... 

68' PENALTY TO DORTMUND
Marco Reus dances into the box, past Jemerson, before being fouled by Glik. Stone wall penalty. 

65' Latest substitute for Dortmund as Weigl replaces Delaney.

64' Reus shoots inches wide! Sancho starts the move by playing in Piszczeck down the right hand side. He crosses, Alcacer dummies at the near post and Reus shoots just wide. Lovely, flowing football from Dortmund - but Monaco aren't sitting back either, as Falcao gets his head to a cross but can't trouble Bürki. 

60' Witsel feeds Alcacer with a beautiful ball but a defender rescues Monaco with a well-timed tackle.

58' Monaco have switched to a back-four since the goal but BVB keep pressing. Alcacer takes a knock on the ankle and stays down but the Spaniard is up and running again.

51' GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Monaco (Bruun Larsen)
Bruun Larsen the finisher, Sancho the provider! The 18-year-old threads a seemingly impossible ball through a defender's legs and into the path of his 20-year-old teammate, and the Dane makes no mistake from close range. Lovely goal! 

46' We're back underway! Jacob Bruun Larsen has come on for Marius Wolf. 

+++ HALF-TIME: Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Monaco +++

44' In pulling off that save from Wolf, Benaglio injured his shoulder and has to be replaced by substitute goalkeeper Danijel Subasic. 

42' Wolf has another shot at goal, this time from distance and high and wide. 

40' Both teams look just as likely to open the scoring here as we approach half-time. 

38' Wolf swivels and shoots in the box but his effort is well tipped round the post by goalkeeper Benaglio. 

36' Sylla finds himself one-on-one with Bürki but yellow shirts get back quickly to crowd out the Frenchman. 

32' Close for Dortmund! Reus wins the ball back midway through the Monaco half and BVB transition rapidly. Wolf finds Delaney on the edge of the box who lays it off to Alcacer but the Spaniard curls his shot just wide. Lovely move. 

25' After a defensive start, Monaco are now showing their quality going forward. The latest attack sees Falcao stray just offside. 

22' Sancho spots Diallo's overlapping run down the left and plays in the French defender, whose cross is cleared for a corner. From the corner, Reus attempts an audacious bicycle kick but it doesn't come off. 

19' Tielemans with another long-range shot and this one is much more dangerous, forcing a good save from Bürki, diving high to his left. 

16' Tielemans fires a long-range effort straight at Bürki. 

15' Monaco come forward again with Henrichs. This time, his cross is directed wide of the goal by Sylla. 

14' Dortmund with the lion's share of the possession in the opening stages. Monaco are sitting deep in a 4-4-2 formation without the ball and allowing the hosts to dictate the pace. 

9' Benjamin Henrichs drives at the Dortmund defense down the Monaco left but the former Bayer Leverkusen man's cross is cleared. 

8' Sancho gets involved for the first time but his control lets him down in the Monaco box. 

4' A positive start from Dortmund. Witsel's cross finds Alcacer at the back post but there's nobody in the center as the Spaniard cushions it back across. Soon after, Wolf fires over from distance. 

+++ KICK-OFF +++
1' We're underway at the Westfalenstadion! Dortmund in yellow shirts and black shorts, Monaco in all white. 

Borussia Dortmund team news: Paco Alcacer makes his first start for the Black and Yellows while Christian Pulisic misses out with a calf injury. Jadon Sancho also starts. 

BVB XI: Bürki - Piszczek, Akanji, Zagadou, Diallo - Witsel, Delaney - Wolf, Reus, Sancho - Alcacer

'The club could have collapsed'
It was one of the most shocking moments in Borussia Dortmund's 109-year history. As the BVB team bus made its way from the team hotel to the Westfalenstadion for the 2016/17 Champions League last-16 first leg against Monaco, it was struck by a roadside explosion which send deadly shards of metal flying through the vehicle. Fortunately, a broken arm for defender Marc Bartra was the only physical injury - but the mental impact was huge. 

Against the will of former coach Thomas Tuchel and senior members of the squad, Dortmund agreed to UEFA's request to play the fixture just 24 hours later. A pyschologically stricken BVB lost 3-2 before losing the second leg 3-1, and the relationship between Tuchel and the club was damaged beyond repair. 

"The club could have collapsed completely," CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sportbild this week ahead of the latest visit of Monaco. "But we ultimately showed that we can master extraordinary situations."

+++ Guten Abend! Welcome to DW's live coverage of Borussia Dortmund vs. Monaco on matchday two of the 2017/18 Champions League +++