Schalke 1 Borussia Dortmund 2: Sancho grabs winner in Revierderby
Thomas Delaney gave Dortmund the lead after just seven minutes, scoring the derby's fastest goal in 19 years, but Schalke hit back when Marco Reus conceded a second-half penalty that Daniel Caligiuri converted.
Sancho settled the match with just over 15 minutes left on the clock and the result leaves Schalke sliding towards the relegation zone after an erratic run of form in which they have lost two and drawn one of their last four league matches, despite also picking up a 5-2 win over Nurnberg.
Dortmund, meanwhile, can continue to enjoy life at the top of the Bundesliga after showing their mettle and carefully negotiating a tricky derby that could have been something of a banana skin in their season.
18y 8m 13d - Jadon @Sanchooo10 is the youngest ever @BlackYellow player to score 6 #Bundesliga goals with 18 years, 8 months and 13 days. Rocket. #S04BVB pic.twitter.com/dDGHeI1X8Y
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) December 8, 2018
Lucien Favre's men have not made a habit of scoring early goals in recent weeks but they raced ahead when Delaney was given the freedom of the penalty area to meet Marco Reus' free-kick, the midfielder heading past the stranded Ralf Fahrmann.
Schalke steadied themselves and should have equalised when forward Guido Burgstaller had a chance from point blank range after 27 minutes, but Roman Burki made a good reaction save.
A foul in the penalty area by Reus on Amine Harit led the referee to consult VAR before pointing to the spot on the hour mark and Caligiuri slotted the ball low to the goalkeeper's left to level the match.
But Schalke's defensive frailties let them down when substitute Raphael Guerreiro played a simple pass to Sancho on the left flank and the teenager strode into the box, opened his body and beat Farhmann with a low shot into the far corner of the net.