Marco Reus and Haller net braces as Dortmund smashed Cologne 6-1 (Video)

Borussia Dortmund resumed their title defense in fine fashion after a trying period during which they lost crucial points in the Revierderby and were eliminated from the Champions League.

Marco Reus scored his 150th career Bundesliga goal, and "Der BVB" put on an imperious performance to ruthlessly defeat FC Cologne by six goals at Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund appeared poised to resume their winning ways after giving up two needless equalizers in last week's Ruhr derby draw against Schalke. 

Dortmund have only lost once here against Cologne since April 1991. Die Schwarzgelben got out to a strong start, and their two unstoppable goals early on established the tone for this one-sided game. Raphael Guerreiro, who had already given his team the lead in the previous weekend's derby, capitalized on Donyell Malen's unstoppable talent by seizing hold of the Dutchman's seeking pass and slipping a deft finish past Marvin Schwäbe.

Jude Bellingham got things moving once again before Cologne had a chance to gather its thoughts. The Cologne defenders were all over the place as the Ivorian slammed into the top corner for 2-0 after feeding Marco Reus, who then combined with Guerreiro and Sébastien Haller. 

A third goal soon followed as the BVB machine rumbled along. Schwäbe made a good save on a shot from Malen, but Guerreiro promptly recycled the attack, leading to Reus' thunderous curled drive that found the top echelons of Cologne's already damaged net.

Malen quickly took it upon himself to send ripples through the yellow and black netting, slamming home a fourth that was too hot for the Cologne goalkeeper to handle. 

It was evident that Malen wasn't pleased with just a simple assist to his credit. Anything that ended the Billy Goats' goalless march would only ever be a paltry consolation when the game was already 4-0 after only 36 minutes, yet Davie Selke managed to score despite it seemed that a thrashing was certain. 

Meyer parried his first attempt, but a second attempt allowed him to at least give the Gästeblock crowd something to cheer about.

Dortmund had already accomplished their goal, therefore the second session started more subduedly. 

Nonetheless, Edin Terzi's soldiers continued to have the upper hand. Mahmoud Dahoud's wonderful free kick looped against the crossbar and landed pleasantly for Haller, whose second goal of the night had a far simpler finish than the first.

 The renowned "Gelbe Wand" were soon rewarded to additional ecstasy on a magnificent evening.

At this point, Die Borussen had become used to playing quick-fire doubles, and another one occurred when Malen overcame Eric Martel and played through Reus. 

The skipper finished forcefully for the historic tally, just like he has done for the whole of his illustrious career. 

Dortmund easily defeated Bayern Munich 6-1, sending a strong message to them in what is still a close race for the championship. In a frenzied last 30 seconds, both teams struck the woodwork twice.