Dortmund has a great chance to open up the title race after Bayern Munich's shock loss to Augsburg. They got right down to business, with Reus flashing a free-kick just beyond the post and Thorgan Hazard and Donyell Malen threatening with a pair of rapid headers. Stuttgart reacted with a wayward shot from inside the box from Philip Förster, while Borna Sosa and Roberto Massimo forced former teammate Gregor Kobel to work from distance.
Dortmund got off to a fast start in the second half, as Reus blasted a free-kick into Müller's clutches. Malen scored the game's first goal, a deflected strike from 18 yards off the sliding Hiroki Ito, after a sustained period of pressure. Stuttgart, on the other hand, did not trail for long. After Manuel Akanji had given Förster possession, the ball was passed to Massimo, who set up Mats Hummels on the outskirts of the box and curled easily past Kobel.