Mumbai, February 23: Serhou Guirassy became the first player since Erling Haaland to score four goals for Borussia Dortmund in a 6-0 rout of Union Berlin on Saturday in the Bundesliga. Kovac also praised midfielder Pascal Gross for setting up four goals. Guirassy had only scored nine in 19 league games prior to Union's visit, far from reaching the 28 goals he scored in 28 Bundesliga appearances for Stuttgart last season. Haaland scored his four in a 5-2 win at Hertha Berlin in November 2020. Bundesliga 2024–25: Bayer Leverkusen Cruises Past Bottom-Placed Holstein Kiel 2–0 To Keep Pressure on Bayern Munich.

“Four goals, victory, amazing fans,” Guirassy told broadcaster Sky after the game. “The first time in my life, I think. Four goals is such a great thing. I'm happy of course, but always, the most important is the team and the victory.”

“World class, There's nothing else to say.”  Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said of Guirassy's performance.

Altogether he scored 44 goals in 58 games over two seasons at Stuttgart after joining the German club from French team Rennes in 2022. The Guinea star was the second player after Germany defender Waldemar Anton to join Dortmund from Bundesliga runner-up Stuttgart last summer, but both struggled to impress as Dortmund made a faltering start to the season.

The club finally fired Nuri Sahin as coach in January, appointing Kovac, the former Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich coach, in his place. But Kovac also labored to get the team going as as Dortmund lost both of his first two Bundesliga games in charge. Georgios Masouras Scores Brace As VfL Bochum Beats Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga 2024–25.

Performances in the Champions League suggested the team was capable of more. Dortmund won 3-0 at Sporting Lisbon, then drew 0-0 against the Portuguese team on Wednesday to seal progress to the last 16. Guirassy scored one goal and set up another in Lisbon. He has 10 goals and five assists in the Champions League this season.

At Stuttgart, Guirassy thrived in a strike partnership with Germany forward Deniz Undav. At Dortmund he has been more isolated. He benefited from Gio Reyna being given a rare start on Saturday as Kovac gave the young American just his second league start this season. Dortmund next faces French team Lille in the Champions League and is confident – thanks in part to Guirassy's impact – of reaching the quarterfinals.

“You always have to begin one day, and today was a great day,” Guirassy said. “I hope we can build on this.”

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)