Claudio Pizarro (l.) scored in extra-time and from the penalty spot as Werder Bremen battled back to send Borussia Dortmund crashing out of the DFB Cup. - © imago/Jan Huebner
Claudio Pizarro (l.) scored in extra-time and from the penalty spot as Werder Bremen battled back to send Borussia Dortmund crashing out of the DFB Cup. - © imago/Jan Huebner
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Werder Bremen beat Borussia Dortmund on penalties in DFB Cup thriller

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Werder Bremen came from behind twice in extra-time before beating Borussia Dortmund on penalties to book their place in the DFB Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Borussia Dortmund 3-3 (AET) Werder Bremen
Bremen win 4-2 on penalties

Goals: 0-1 Rashica (5’), 1-1 Reus (45+3’), 2-1 Pulisic (105’), 2-2 Pizarro (108’), 3-2 Hakimi (113’), 3-3 Harnik (119’)

Dortmund trailed inside five minutes when Milot Rashica turned in Max Kruse’s inviting free-kick. BVB almost levelled through Mario Götze, who back-heeled a Christian Pulisic cross narrowly wide. Rashica followed suit with a similar opening at the other end and Kruse tested debutant goalkeeper Eric Oelschlägel, before Marco Reus thundered in a free-kick to level matters deep into first-half stoppage time.

That was Reus’ last involvement - the Dortmund skipper succumbing to a groin problem at half-time. Kruse tested Oelschlägel with another teasing free-kick, but the former Werder stopper was able to make the save. Oelschlägel defied the laws of physics to keep out another Kruse set-piece - this one having taken a wicked deflection - late on. BVB went straight up the other end, with Thomas Delaney heading a corner onto the bar.

Bremen dominated for large periods in the first half of extra-time, before Pulisic started and finished a lightning counter to give Dortmund the lead for the first time. Werder responded immediately through substitute Claudio Pizarro, but parity lasted less than five minutes as Achraf Hakimi restored BVB’s lead following a driving run from Maximilian Philipp. Oelschlägel kept out Davy Klaassen’s deflected effort, but could only help Martin Harnik’s downward header into the net from the ensuing corner as a thrilling tie went to penalties.

Jiri Pavlenka saved from Paco Alcacer and Philipp, while Bremen scored all four of their attempts in the shootout to advance to the last eight and send Bundesliga leaders Dortmund crashing out of the competition.

Claudio Pizarro was one of four different scorers in extra-time. - 2019 Getty Images

Match stats

  • Reus scored his 17th competitive goal of the season.
  • Harnik has scored 21 goals in 26 DFB Cup appearances.
  • Pulisic registered one goal and two assists in the previous round, and scored again against Werder.
  • It’s been 10 years since Bremen won the last of their six DFB Cups.
  • Five-time competition winner Pizarro has scored two goals in three DFB Cup appearances this season.
  • Bremen’s Nuri Sahin made 274 competitive appearances in his two spells with BVB, winning the DFB Cup in 2016/17.
  • Oelschlägel previously played for Bremen's U19s and reserve teams.

Line-ups

Dortmund: Oelschlägel – Hakimi, Weigl, Toprak, Diallo – Witsel, Delaney (Dahoud 102') – Pulisic, Reus (c) (Alcacer 46'), Guerreiro (Bruun Larsen 90+1') – Götze (Philipp 90+1')
Unused subs: Unbehaun, Zagadou, Wolf
Out: Akanji (hip), Balerdi (mouth), Zagadou (fitness), Bürki, Hitz, Schmelzer, Sancho (all illness), Piszczek (foot)
Coach: Lucien Favre

Bremen: Pavlenka – Gebre Selassie (J. Eggestein 114'), Langkamp, Moisander, Augustinsson – Bargfrede (Pizarro 90+1'), Sahin (Möhwald 76'), M. Eggestein – Klaassen, Kruse (c), Rashica (Harnik 66')
Unused subs: Kapino, Friedl, Veljkovic
Out: Bartels (illness), Beste (ankle), Johannsson (ankle), Osako (fatigue)
Coach: Florian Kohfeldt

As it happened!

FULL-TIME!

Bremen win 4-2 on pens!

High drama in Dortmund. The Bundesliga leaders bow out. Bremen march into the quarter-final draw!

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 2-4 BREMEN - KRUSE SCORES!

Bremen are into the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup!

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 2-3 BREMEN - WEIGL SCORES!

Weigl goes down the middle. Pavlenka gets a hand to it, but it goes in.

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 1-3 BREMEN - KLAASSEN SCORES!

No chance for Oelschlägel, who goes to his left as Klaassen puts it high to his right.

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 1-2 BREMEN - WITSEL SCORES!

No messing about from Witsel - he sends Pavlenka the wrong way.

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 0-2 BREMEN - M. EGGESTEIN SCORES!

Oelschlägel goes the right way, but it's right in the corner from Eggestein.

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 0-1 BREMEN - PHILIPP MISSES!

Same position as Alcacer - Pavlenka reads it all the way.

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 0-1 BREMEN - PIZARRO SCORES!

Cool as you like from the veteran!

PENALTIES: DORTMUND 0-0 BREMEN - ALCACER MISSES!

Easy save for Jiri Pavlenka!

120' DORTMUND 3-3 BREMEN!

Penalties will decide an absolute corker of a cup tie in Dortmund. Hold on tight!

120' CHANCE - J. EGGESTEIN!

Dortmund hearts in mouths as Bremen sub Jo Eggestein dances into the box. He winds up, but the ball is deflected before the referee calls the play back for offside.

119' GOAAAAL! DORTMUND 3-3 BREMEN!

Incredible! Martin Harnik heads Max Kruse's corner into the ground, the bounce deceiving Eric Oelschlägel as the ball nestles into the Dortmund goal. Penalties loom large...

117' CHANCE - KLAASSEN!

Eric Oelschlägel does it again. He sees Davy Klaassen's 18-yard strike really late. It takes a wicked deflection, but the debutant gets down to make the stop.

112' GOAAAAL! DORTMUND 3-2 BREMEN!

Another twist in the tale! Maximilian Philipp schools Ludwig Augustinsson out on the Dortmund right and drives into the Bremen penalty area. The Dortmund shirts are queuing up. Philipp finds Achraf Hakimi, who slots home with aplomb! Will it be third time lucky?

111' CHANCE - ALCACER!

So, so close from Alcacer. Jiri Pavlenka doesn't move as the Spain international whips a fierce free-kick over the wall and against the stanchion supporting the Bremen net.

109' CHANCE - PHILIPP!

Dortmund go straight up the other end with Jacob Bruun Larsen. He finds Maxi Philipp, who draws a flying save from Jiri Pavlenka.

108' GOAAAAL! DORTMUND 2-2 BREMEN!

Bremen are level! Theo Gebre Selassie slips a pass into the Dortmund box for Kevin Möhwald. The ball takes a telling deflection off Axel Witsel, and Claudio Pizarro steals in ahead of Eric Oelschlägel to stick away the equaliser.

106' AWAY WE GO AGAIN!

Dortmund are 15 minutes away from a place in the DFB Cup quarter-finals...

105' HALF TIME IN EXTRA TIME

Bremen looked the most likely, until that moment of brilliance from Pulisic. Can Dortmund seal the deal?

104' GOAAAAL! DORTMUND 2-1 BREMEN!

Christian Pulisic fires Dortmund ahead for the first time! Axel Witsel wins a header in his own half. Pulisic takes it in his stride and hares into Bremen territory. The American feeds Paco Alcacer, continues his run and calmly puts away the return pass. Superb goal - made in the USA.

102' DORTMUND CHANGE

Frustration for Christian Pulisic, whose penalised for catching Kevin Möhwald in the face in a promising position in the Bremen half. When play resumes, Mahmoud Dahoud replaces Thomas Delaney in Lucien Favre's third change of the night.

97' BREMEN ON TOP

Werder have their tails up. They're pressing Dortmund to great effect, just as they did at the start of the first half.

91 EXTRA TIME!

Changes for both sides. Maximilian Philipp and Jacob Bruun Larsen replace Mario Götze and Christian Pulisic for Dortmund. Bremen replace midfielder Philipp Bargfrede with 40-year-old striker and five-time DFB Cup winner Claudio Pizarro.

90' EXTRA-TIME TO COME!

So close to a winner at both ends, but 1-1 it remains. Don't go anywhere - we're got 30 minutes of extra-time to come...

90' CHANCE - DORTMUND!

Late Dortmund corner. Thomas Delaney meets it, and sends his header onto the crossbar. Incredible finish to the 90 here!

89' OELSCHLÄGEL TO THE RESCUE!

Eric Oelschlägel keeps Dortmund in the DFB Cup. Max Kruse's free-kick takes a wicked deflection. Oelschlägel has already committed to going to his right, but defies the laws of physics to adjust his body and claw the ball over the crossbar.

86' WILL WE HAVE A WINNER IN NORMAL TIME?

Four minutes left for either side to find a winner. Otherwise, we'll have extra-time and maybe even penalties...

80' CHANCE - MÖHWALD!

Davy Klaassen lays the ball off to Max Kruse, and continues his run, but the Bremen captain opts to play in Kevin Möhwald, who shanks over from 20 yards. Klaassen is not a happy bunny. The Dortmund defenders had lost track of the Dutchman.

77' BREMEN CHANGE

Florian Kohfeldt gives Nuri Sahin the hook. On comes Kevin Möhwald.

75' SAHIN GETS LUCKY

Raphael Guerreiro goes down on the edge of the Bremen penalty area. The home crowd are incensed, but without the benefit of the video assistant in DFB Cup games, there's no review. Nuri Sahin was the culprit, pulling the Portuguese midfielder back - but was it inside the box?

72' PENALTIES?

Dortmund are seeing plenty of the ball, albeit without really threatening the Werder goal. Are they heading for extra-time once again? BVB went the distance against Greuther Fürth and Union Berlin in the previous rounds, remember...

66' BREMEN CHANGE

Bremen goalscorer Milot Rashica curls wide from range. That's his last involvement of the night - Martin Harnik, with 20 goals in 25 DFB Cup appearances to date, takes his place.

63' PACO-MAN

Sensational combination play between Paco Alcacer and Raphael Guerreiro. They exchange countless one-touch passes, before Niklas Noisander intervenes to prevent Guerreiro from going through on goal.

60' NO-NONSENSE DELANEY

Bremen turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye. Max Kruse collects on halfway and attempts to drive clear, but Thomas Delaney sticks out a boot to regain possession, felling the Werder captain in the progress. Again, the referee is unmoved.

58' PENALTY APPEALS!

Achraf Hakimi whips a cross into the Bremen box for Mario Götze. He gets a toe to it, with the ball deflecting off a white shirt and, according to the Dortmund players, onto the hand of Maxi Eggestein. The referee waves play on...

54' CHANCE - KRUSE!

Max Kruse collects Theo Gebre Selassie's cute back-heel, and aims for Eric Oelschlägel's near post from range. The rookie stopper gets down well to make the stop, though. Kruse did say before the game that he was going to shoot of sight...

SECOND HALF DORTMUND 1-1 BREMEN!

One change at the break - a significant one for Dortmund. Marco Reus went off clutching his groin, and can't continue. Paco Alcacer, who has scored 10 of his 12 Bundesliga goals this season from the bench, is on.

HALF-TIME! DORTMUND 1-1 BREMEN!

DFB Cup football at its finest. Bremen took a shock lead through Milot Rashica, but Dortmund grew into the contest and levelled in stoppage time through a Marco Reus special. Both sides have created chances - expect much more of the same in the second 45!

45+3' GOAAAAL! DORTMUND 1-1 BREMEN!

Gutting for Bremen. Axel Witsel does really well on the edge of the Werder area to draw a cynical foul from Philipp Bargfrede. Marco Reus steps up to take the ensuing free-kick, which is measured to absolute perfection - through a tiny gap in the ball and into the back of the net. Game on!

43' CHANCE - KRUSE!

Kruse goes for goal this time, curling a wicked effort round the wall and towards the bottom corner. Eric Oelschlägel is at full-stretch and gets down well to push the ball away.

42' YELLOW CARD - WEIGL

Julian Weigl uses a hand to prevent Milot Rashica going clean through on goal. He can have no complaints with the referee's decision. Free-kick to come, in almost exactly the same position as the one that produced the opening goal...

40' WASTEFUL

Marco Reus picks the pockets of Davy Klaassen in the Dortmund half. The BVB captain immediately goes on the attack, crossing halfway and shifting the ball out to the right for Mario Götze. He dallies, though, allowing Bremen to get plenty of men behind the ball. Achraf Hakimi arrives on the overlap, and his cross is charged down for a corner that comes to nothing.

35' NOBODY HOME!

Marco Reus with quick feet on the right-hand side of the Bremen box. He hangs up a cross, but again it's Theo Gebre Selassie who gets there first. BVB missing a physical presence in the box at present.

32' CHANCE - RASHICA!

Bremen's short-passing game has Dortmund on the back foot. All of a sudden, Ludwig Augustinsson is in behind the BVB defence. He cuts the ball back for Milot Rashica, who slides in to toe the ball narrowly wide of Eric Oelschlägel's left-hand post. Kohfeldt applauds the effort. That was close!

29' KAPOW!

That's one way to stop Christian Pulisic. Philipp Bargfrede puts all his weight behind a thunderous body check on the fleet-footed American. No doubt about that one - free-kick.

22' CHANCE - REUS!

Pulisic comes again and manages to squeeze a ball into the feet of Reus. He's surrounded by white shirts, but still gets a shot off - wide!

20' PULISIC ON THE PROWL

Dortmund break at pace with Pulisic. He bursts clears and lobs a ball into the danger zone, but Bremen right-back Theo Gebre Selassie gets there first to clear. Axel Witsel heads harmlessly wide from the ensuing corner.

18' DORTMUND TURNING THE SCREW

Good spell for Dortmund, this. They're finding their passing groove in the final third, with Götze causing all manner of problems as the lone striker. He was played in on goal just then by Achraf Hakimi, only to be flagged for offside. Warning signs for Werder...

14' CHANCE - GÖTZE!

Werder only half clear the corner. Christian Pulisic returns the ball with interest and Mario Götze back-heels a whisker wide of the far post with a brilliantly audacious attempt. Superb football.

13' ROLLS REUS

A flash of brilliance from Marco Reus out on the Dortmund left. He jinks this way and that, before being unceremoniously dumped on the deck. Raphael Guerreiro whips in a fierce inswinger, which Werder direct behind for a corner.

11' BREMEN PRESSING HARD

Dortmund are not used to this. Werder are pressing BVB very high up the pitch, allowing the hosts precious little time to build up a head of steam. How long can they keep it up?

7' PULISIC!

Dortmund come forward with Christian Pulisic, but the American's cross is straight down the throat of Bremen stopper Jiri Pavlenka.

5' GOAAAAL - DORTMUND 0-1 BREMEN!

Perfect start for Werder Bremen! Max Kruse whips in a low free-kick, which is directed past Eric Oelschlägel by Milot Raschica.

2' TALKING TACTICS

It's early days, but it looks as though Florian Kohfeldt has asked former Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin to sit just in front of the Bremen defence, in something of a quarter-back role. He can certainly pick a pass, as the partisan home crown will know all too well.

KICK-OFF!

Up and running in Dortmund, with BVB attacking the famous Yellow Wall.

STRESSED ERIC?

Big, big night for Eric Oelschlägel. The 23-year-old goalkeeper is making his competitive debut at the Signal Iduna Park - no pressure, then...

LEVERKUSEN AND NUREMBERG OUT!

It's been a bad night for the Bundesliga so far... Bayer Leverkusen and Nuremberg have both been knocked out of the DFB Cup by second-tier opposition. Leverkusen took the lead through Julian Brandt but were beaten 2-1 in Heidenheim, while Nuremberg were edged 1-0 at Hamburg.

Are there more upsets on the cards in the remaining six fixtures?

TWO CHANGES FOR BREMEN

Florian Kohfeldt has kept faith with nine of the 11 players who drew at Nuremberg on Saturday. The only new faces are Langkamp and Bargfrede, who come in for Veljkovic and Harnik.

FOUR CHANGES FOR BVB

Dortmund boss Lucien Favre has made four changes from the weekend's 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. Oelschlägel, Toprak, Pulisic and Götze come in, while Bürki, Piszczek and Sancho are unavailable and Alcacer drops to the bench.

LEVERKUSEN HEADING OUT!

With all that team news excitement, I forgot to tell you that Heidenheim now lead Leverkusen 2-1 thanks to a 72nd-minute goal from Multhaup. The Bundesliga side have five minutes plus stoppage time to find an equaliser!

DORTMUND LAID LOW BY ILLNESS

Four Dortmund players have been ruled out of tonight's clash because of an infection - and two of them are goalkeepers Roman Bürki and Marwin Hitz, which means that third keeper Eric Oelschlägel is set for a baptism of fire against former club Bremen. This will be the 23-year-old's first senior appearance for BVB. Marcel Schmelzer and Jadon Sancho are the other two players affected by illness, while Lukasz Piszczek is out with a foot injury.

STARTING LINE-UPS!

Dortmund: Oelschlägel – Hakimi, Weigl, Toprak, Diallo – Witsel, Delaney – Pulisic, Reus (c), Guerreiro – Götze

Bremen: Pavlenka – Gebre Selassie, Langkamp, Moisander, Augustinsson – Bargfrede, Sahin, M. Eggestein – Klaassen, Kruse (c), Rashica

HAMBURG AHEAD AGAINST NUREMBERG

Berkay Özcan has put second-tier Hamburg 1-0 up against Bundesliga side Nuremberg. Meanwhile Leverkusen have just had a lucky escape, with Multhaup hitting the crossbar for Heidenheim. It's still 1-1 in that game.

ONE HOUR TO GO!

The Dortmund and Bremen players have arrived at the Signal Iduna Park, and kick-off is now just over an hour away. Team news to come very shortly.

HEIDENHEIM LEVEL

Second-tier Heidenheim have had a dream start to the second half, with Austrian striker Nikola Dovedan bringing them level against Leverkusen. Game on at the Voith-Arena!

LEVERKUSEN TAKE THE LEAD

We've had our first goal of the night - Julian Brandt has put Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 up at Heidenheim on the stroke of half-time. It's still goalless between Hamburg and Nuremberg at the interval.

OVERALL RECORD: DORTMUND 4-6 BREMEN!

Dortmund may have enjoyed more recent success than their opponents tonight, winning the DFB Cup in 2017 and 2012, but they have only conquered the trophy on four occasions compared to Bremen's six. After lifting the Cup in 1961 with victory over Kaiserslautern, the Green-Whites won the competition three times in the 1990s and twice more in the 2000s. The four-time Bundesliga champions achieved their only league and cup double in 2003/04.

SAY NO TO VAR!

... that at least is what the DFB has done for the early rounds of the DFB Cup. There will be no Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at any of the games this week, but they will be back from the quarter-finals onwards.

LAST 16 UNDERWAY

Bayer Leverkusen and Nuremberg have kicked off their games in Heidenheim and Hamburg respectively - we'll let you know when there are any goals to report.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS FOR BREMEN?

Bremen celebrated the 120th anniversary of the founding of the club on Monday, and will be looking to give themselves a late birthday present in Dortmund tonight - even if coach Florian Kohfeldt knows that getting the better of the Bundesliga leaders will be a tough ask.

"They have a great league record and are so good going forward," he said, while acknowledging that Dortmund's previous DFB Cup games this season - against lower-league sides Greuther Fürth and Union Berlin - were "very tight and exciting".

LEVERKUSEN STARTING XI

Here's the Leverkusen team who will be looking to qualify for the quarter-finals tonight in Heidenheim, three days after their excellent 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga:

Hradecky – Weiser, Jedvaj, Dragovic, Wendell – Aranguiz, Baumgartlinger (c), Brandt – Paulinho, Alario, Bailey

Coach Peter Bosz has made five changes, with Jonathan Tah, Kevin Volland and Karim Bellarabi dropping to the bench, and Kai Havertz and Sven Bender rested. That game kicks off in about 45 minutes' time.

THROWBACK TUESDAY

It also finished 2-1 the last time Dortmund played Bremen in the DFB Cup, although back in January 2009 it was the Green-Whites who progressed to the quarter-finals, on their way to winning the competition for the sixth time. Alexander Frei gave Jürgen Klopp's BVB an early lead at the Signal Iduna Park, but Hugo Almeida equalised for the visitors before Claudio Pizarro - then a sprightly 30-year-old - grabbed an 80th-minute winner. Incredibly, the evergreen Peruvian could well feature for Bremen tonight.

PREVIOUS MEETING: DORTMUND 2-1 BREMEN

The current Bundesliga leaders ran out 2-1 winners when these sides met in Dortmund in mid-December, and if you scroll down you can enjoy video highlights of the game. Goals from Paco Alcacer and Marco Reus had BVB in the driving seat before the half-hour mark, and they held on for the three points despite Max Kruse reducing the deficit on 35 minutes.

"It was difficult until the end," Lucien Favre insisted. "Bremen have a very good team, are always well-organised and win the ball intelligently. After that they get forward quickly."

DFB CUP ROUND OF 16

Here's the full slate of fixtures to be played in the DFB Cup this week. Holders Eintracht Frankfurt were knocked out by Ulm in the first round in August.

Tuesday 5 February
Hamburg vs. Nuremberg (6.30pm CET)
Heidenheim vs. Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm CET)
Duisburg vs. Paderborn (8.45pm CET)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Werder Bremen (8.45pm CET)

Wednesday 6 February
Holstein Kiel vs. Augsburg (6.30pm CET)
RB Leipzig vs. Wolfsburg (6.30pm CET)
Schalke vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf (8.45pm CET)
Hertha Berlin vs. Bayern Munich (8.45pm CET)

FAVRE: "WE NEED TO ROTATE"

BVB boss Lucien Favre has made no secret of the fact that he will be ringing the changes tonight, as Dortmund continue their marathon run of 10 games before the March international break, which kicked off with Saturday's 1-1 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

"We want and need to rotate," the Swiss tactician announced. "Rotation is compulsory. Otherwise it's too much physically, and mentally too."

WELCOME ALONG

We've got a little under six hours until Dortmund and Bremen go head-to-head at the Signal Iduna Park for a place in the DFB Cup quarter-finals - so plenty of time to settle in and get comfortable as we build up to the game! We'll also be bringing you live score updates from the other three ties tonight, including Bayer Leverkusen's trip to Heidenheim.