Dortmund produce remarkable second-half comeback to sink Hoffenheim
| Photo: Sona Maleterova/Getty Images. |
In a thrilling second-half turnaround, Borussia Dortmund came from two down to emerge 3-2 winners over TSG Hoffenheim this afternoon. A late own-goal from Albian Hajdari in the 87th-minute gave the visitors all three points to take back with them to the Rhurpott.
The opening 10 minutes passed by with little fuss as Dortmund enjoyed the lion's share of possession despite a lack of threat in the final third. Hoffenheim started to settle into their rhythm thereafter, with a venomous Adam Hložek effort sailing a metre wide.
A smart pass from Joane Gadou on the turn gave Serhou Guirassy his first sniff of goal – Oliver Baumann got down smartly at his near post. At the other end, Gregor Kobel produced a superb save to keep Adam Daghim's strike out after some trickery from Tim Lemperle.
The loss of Filippo Mane to injury gave Ethan Nwaneri his BVB debut, but the hosts were looking more dangerous by the minute. It soon told when Dortmund stood off in defense, affording too much space to Leon Avdullahu who picked out the top-left corner from range.
Inside ten minutes of the second-half, the Sinsheimers went 2-0 to the good as Gadou was shoved off the ball by Daghim. The striker unselfishly set up Lemperle, cutting inside and finding the net via a nasty deflection off Waldemar Anton which deceived Kobel.
Amazingly, momentum swung in the space of five minutes. BVB halved the deficit just after the hour mark when Anton picked the pockets of Avdullahu. From there, he fed Guirassy who chipped over a sprawling Baumann with ice-cool precision, grabbing a lifeline.
The introduction of Fábio Silva reaped instant reward, spinning off the shoulder of the last defender. From there, he latched onto Guirassy's ball and placed it inside the right post for 2-2 in the blink of an eye. The game took on an end-to-end style thereafter.
Similar to their opening day collapse in Köln, ill-fortune would repeat itself late on for Hoffenheim. Silva and Nwaneri linked up for the latter to cross at the byline. A cruel knick off Albian Hajdari steered the ball past Baumann and consigning Ilzer's men to another 3-2 loss.
