Late Erling Haaland goal earns Borussia Dortmund point against Hoffenheim
Erling Haaland saved Borussia Dortmund from another defeat to Hoffenheim with his equaliser in the final 10 minutes of a 2-2 draw at the Signal Iduna Park which also saw Jadon Sancho, Munas Dabbur and Ihlas Bebou on target.
Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Hoffenheim
Goals: 1-1 Sancho (24'), 1-1 Dabbur (31'), 1-2 Bebou (51'), 2-2 Haaland (81')
Hoffenheim were without top scorer Andrej Kramaric, missing with a knee injury, and could well have been two goals ahead had he been on the pitch in a wide-open start to proceedings. The game's first big chance fell the way of Dortmund's top scorer, with Haaland going one-on-one with Oliver Baumann but unable to beat the goalkeeper's outstretched leg. Then came Hoffenheim, with Bebou missing two big chances to open the scoring. The first a one-on-one which was blocked by a fantastic recovering challenge by Manuel Akanji, who had initially given the ball away. Five minutes later came the next golden opportunity, but Bebou could only find the side-netting from in front of Marwin Hitz's goal. Hoffenheim were made to pay when Raphael Guerreiro flicked Sancho away down the left and he raced on to slot the ball past Baumann at his near post. Bebou dragged another shot wide before Jude Bellingham took too long to pick his spot in a one-on-one of his own with Stefan Posch coming to the rescue. And from that challenge came Hoffenheim's equaliser, with Sebastian Rudy slotting Dabbur in on goal to finish past Hitz from the counter-attack. Bebou was denied once more with Mats Hummels making a last-ditch challenge this time as the sides went in level after a host of chances at either end.
It had been a disappointing first half for Bebou, but he made up for it just six minutes into the second. A short corner was crossed in by Rudy and Bebou beat Hitz to head home at the near post. Haaland blazed a shot high over from the edge of the Hoffenheim area in response, before seeing an equaliser called back for offside after a VAR check. Edin Terzic then brought Marco Reus and Youssoufa Moukoko on with just under 30 minutes to play, and Dortmund pushing on for an equaliser. The home side were struggling to create chances on goal, while Bebou went close to scoring again but couldn't divert Mijat Gacinovic's pass beyond Hitz. Haaland had been denied twice but would not be stopped a third time as he pounced on a loose ball before slotting home past Baumann in the final 10 minutes. Gacinovic had the golden chance to win the game in the final moments but fired wide at the near post, as the spoils were shared in the end.
Match stats
- Haaland has scored 22 of his 28 Bundesliga goals in the second half of games. It was also his fifth goal this season in the final 15 minutes of games - a Bundesliga-best.
- Sancho has scored all of his four Bundesliga goals this season in 2021.
- Dortmund are unbeaten in the Bundesliga when Sancho has scored. Their record stands at 23 wins, six draws and no defeats.
- Dabbur scored for the first time since Matchday 6 of 2020/21, ending a run of 10 games without a goal for the Israel international.
- BVB kept five clean sheets across their first six matches of the season. They've recorded one in 15 since.
- Hoffenheim have not lost three successive Bundesliga matches since August 2019, though the first two in that run fell at the end of the previous campaign. They have not lost three on the bounce in a single season since April 2015.
Watch: Terzic: "We weren't clinical in front of goal"
Line-ups
Dortmund: Hitz - Can, Akanji, Hummels (c), Guerreiro - Bellingham (Schulz 71'), Delaney (Dahoud 59') - Sancho, Brandt (Moukoko 59'), Reyna (Reus 59') - Haaland
Unused subs: Unbehaun, Morey, Reinier, Tigges, Passlack
Out: Bürki (shoulder), Meunier (knee), Hazard (thigh), Piszczek (muscular), Schmelzer (knee), Witsel (Achilles tendon), Zagadou (hamstring)
Coach: Edin Terzic
Hoffenheim: Baumann (c) - Posch, Grillitsch, Vogt - Kaderabek (Gacinovic 64'), Rudy, Samassekou, John - Baumgartner - Bebou, Dabbur (Skov 88')
Unused subs: Pentke, Adams, Belfodil, Adamyan, Richards, Beier
Out: Akpoguma (hamstring), Bicakcic (knee), Geiger (hamstring), Hübner (ankle), Kramaric (ankle), Nordtveit (foot), Sessegnon (thigh), Stafylidis (shoulder)
Coach: Sebastian Hoeneß
Watch: Dabbur: "We showed our strength"
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