BERLIN (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund overpowered Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Saturday with two goals from captain Marco Reus to move into second place in the Bundesliga, a point behind leaders RB Leipzig.
Leipzig are top on 10 points after drawing 1-1 with champions Bayern Munich, who are third on eight.
In a perfect dress rehearsal for next week's Champions League premiere at home to Barcelona, the Spanish side's former player Paco Alcacer volleyed in his fifth goal of the campaign to put Dortmund ahead in the 28th minute.
The Spaniard has now scored in all eight competitive games for both club and country this season, grabbing a total of 10 goals so far.
Dortmund were eager to bounce back from a shock loss at Union Berlin before the international break, and had a dizzying spell midway through the first half that saw them hit the bar and force Lucas Hradecky to make a string of superb saves.
Reus, however, struck five minutes after the restart with Jadon Sancho cutting back into the box and Alcacer faking a shot but letting the ball through his legs for the Dortmund captain to fire in.
In a similar move Hradecky managed to palm a Sancho cross away but it fell into the path of Portuguese Raphael Guerreiro who had no trouble tapping in the third goal after 83 minutes.
Reus completed the win in the 90th with his third goal in four games to lift Dortmund to nine points.
"We defended really well today and that necessary. We knew they would have a lot of possession," Dortmund coach Lucien Favre told reporters.
"We were patient. We defended well when needed, we stayed calm and avoided any big mistakes. We also showed we can play well on the break."
Alassane Plea's 14th minute goal was enough to give Borussia Moenchengladbach a 1-0 win at Cologne and lift them to fifth on seven points.
Werder Bremen beat Union Berlin 2-1 away in a lively encounter which featured two goals scored from the penalty spot, two sending offs -- one for each team -- and four video reviews.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)