Belgium international striker Michy Batshuayi has taken a giant step towards replacing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund. The 24-year-old became the first player to score a brace on his Bundesliga debut since the Gabon Aubameyang did so in 2013.

Batshuayi arrived at Dortmund on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day. He wasted no time in helping his new side to their victory in the Bundesliga match on Friday evening; away from home at the RheinEnergieStadion.

The 24-year-old striker opened the scoring in the 35th minute and made it a brace in the 62nd. Cologne equalized through Simon Zoller and Jorge Meré, in the 60th and 69th minutes respectively. Andre Schürrle scored the winner in the 84th minute from a Batshuayi assist.

Borussia Dortmund head coach Peter Stoger hailed Batshuayi, labelling the striker’s debut for the club a dream after a 3-2 win over Cologne. Stoger was full of praise for the Belgium international and he expects him to be a key player for Dortmund after the departure of Aubameyang to Arsenal.

Debut Delight for Batshuayi

Stoger Praises Batshuayi Debut

“We lost an extraordinary forward. And what I already said was that on the last day we got a new player who has goal scoring skills,” he said at a post-match conference.

“We needed such a player for our squad. That the game went like this is like a dream for him and for everyone involved.

“It feels very good for him and to everyone so he can feel comfortable here very fast.

“But I think we all saw that, independent from the goals, he will be an important player for us” Stoger said.

The win puts Borussia Dortmund in 4th position in the Bundesliga with 34 points from 21 games. They are 19 points adrift of arch-rivals Bayern Munich.

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