On his return from injury, Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland scored twice to help his club defeat Mainz 3-1 and move to the top of the Bundesliga table. The Norwegian forward, who had been out since late September, scored a penalty kick in the 54th minute after a lengthy VAR review of a handball and then scored twice in second-half stoppage time.
Dortmund possessed three-quarters of possession in a tense first half but had to wait nearly the entire half for another chance, which came in stoppage time when a Jude Bellingham shot was cleared off the line. In the second half, Haaland's penalty gave Dortmund some breathing room, and Mats Hummels hit the post with a looping header, but the visitors were far from finished. Mainz scored in the 87th minute when Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made a mistake, setting up a tense finish before Haaland completed a swift break to secure Dortmund's eighth consecutive home league win.