Borussia Dortmund closed in on a Champions League qualification place after a 4-0 victory at Cologne on Saturday. Donyell Malen scored twice, with Niclas Füllkrug and Youssoufa Moukoko also on target at the RheinEnergieStadion.
The game was interrupted for eight minutes in the first half after fans threw chocolate coins onto the pitch in protest against the planned sale of a stake in the Bundesliga's media rights firm to an investor. When play resumed, Malen had already put Dortmund ahead in the 12th minute, drilling in from Julian Brandt's corner.
Cologne almost levelled after the restart, but Jan Thielmann's close-range effort was saved by Gregor Kobel, and Linton Maina hit the woodwork. Against the run of play, Jadon Sancho was brought down in the box, and Füllkrug converted the penalty in the 58th minute. Three minutes later, Malen scored his second after latching onto a pass from Ian Maatsen, and Moukoko added a fourth in stoppage time.
Dortmund moved to fifth on 33 points, one behind third-placed Stuttgart, who lost 1-0 at Bochum. Leaders Bayer Leverkusen remained unbeaten after a dramatic 3-2 win at RB Leipzig, with Piero Hincapié scoring a stoppage-time winner. Xabi Alonso's side have 48 points, seven ahead of second-placed Bayern Munich, who play Werder Bremen on Sunday.
In Serie A, Roma won 2-1 at home against Verona in Daniele De Rossi's first match as manager, with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Milan needed a stoppage-time goal from Noah Okafor to beat Udinese 3-2, in a match that saw players walk off the pitch after goalkeeper Mike Maignan reported racist abuse from the crowd.
