Borussia Dortmund have climbed off the bottom of the Bundesliga table thanks to a 3-0 victory over fellow strugglers Freiburg.
The deadlock was broken inside nine minutes as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang evaded a couple of challenges on a run into the box before teeing up Marco Reus, who tapped in from close range.
Freiburg responded well to the early setback, but the hosts struggled to turn pressure into chances as Dortmund's defence showed signs of improving after another disappointing week.
Shinji Kagawa came close to doubling their lead before the interval as he evaded a couple of tackles with some clever footwork before stinging Roman Burki's palms with a powerful strike.
Dortmund scored the crucial second 10 minutes into the second half when Ilkay Gundogan played an inch-perfect through ball for Aubameyang, and he finished calmly past a helpless Burki.
Reus continued to show signs of finding his best form, having battled a number of injury problems in recent months, and he almost scored his second of the afternoon with a curling effort which forced Burki into a fine save.
Burki could do nothing to prevent Aubameyang wrapping up a comfortable win in impressive fashion as the Gabon international picked out the bottom corner with a fine finish after Kagawa's clever pass in the box.
Another solo run from Aubameyang almost resulted in him completing his hat-trick, but Burki tipped a low effort wide as Dortmund strolled to a crucial win.
Callum Mulvihill
