Jadon Sancho starred as Borussia Dortmund took a great stride toward Champions League qualification by thrashing Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Saturday.

The English forward scored one goal - his first in the Bundesliga - and displayed wonderful skill before setting up two more to help Dortmund replace Leverkusen in third, three points clear.

The 18-year-old needed just 13 minutes to open the scoring for his side and become the youngest Englishman to score in Germany's top flight.

Sancho, handed a rare start, scored early when he curled the ball inside the far post after some good work from Christian Pulisic.

Marco Reus had a goal ruled out for offside and a penalty saved, but he finally scored when Mario Gotze set him free with a deft touch early in the second half.

Sancho showed a wonderful first touch to take the ball with the side of his foot in his stride before setting up Maximilian Philipp for Dortmund's third.

The 18-year-old then picked out Reus with a precise cross for the fourth with Germany coach Joachim Loew watching on in the stands.

'To reach the Champions League you can't play like that,' said Leverkusen's Sven Bender, celebrated after the game by Dortmund fans on his return.

Sancho's former team-mate and now Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang congratulated him for his fine performance on social media.

The Gabonese striker posted a picture of watching the game alongside the caption 'Oh finally you got the first one @sanchooo10'.

Sancho joined Dortmund from Manchester City last summer and became the first Englishman to play for them  against Frankfurt in October.