Borussia Dortmund stay level with Bayern Munich at the top after Marco Reus winner at Hertha Berlin
Marco Reus scored an injury-time winner as Borussia Dortmund overturned two Salomon Kalou goals to beat Hertha Berlin and stay neck-and-neck with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
Goals: 1-0 Kalou (4’), 1-1 Delaney (14’), 2-1 Kalou (pen. 35’), 2-2 Zagadou (47’), 2-3 Reus (90+2')
Red cards: Torunarigha (85’), Ibisevic (90+4')
Trailing Bayern on goal difference at the start of play, Dortmund got off to the worst possible start when goalkeeper Roman Bürki spilled a Maximilian Mittelstädt strike into the path of Kalou for a routine finish on the follow-up. There was a stroke of luck about Dortmund’s equaliser, too, with Thomas Delaney’s speculative effort taking a telling deflection off Karim Rekik on its way past Rune Jarstein. Jadon Sancho and Jacob Bruun Larsen kept the Hertha stopper busy as BVB turned the screw, only for Kalou to restore Hertha’s lead from the penalty spot following a handball decision against Christian Pulisic.
There was no let-up in the second half as Dan-Axel Zagadou met a Sancho corner to bring the visitors level within two minutes of the restart. Sancho side-footed against the outside of the stanchion and Bruun Larsen tested Jarstein during a riotous passage of play, in which Hertha’s Marko Grujic also struck the base of Bürki’s left-hand post. Sancho, Pulisic and Achraf Hakimi passed up a golden opportunity to give Dortmund the lead, before Hertha’s Jordan Torunarigha was sent off for a second bookable offence with five minutes of normal time to play. Delaney fired against the woodwork, but Dortmund kept plugging away and were rewarded in added time when Reus stroked in from Sancho to send his side three clear of Bayern, before the defending champions beat Mainz on Sunday to move level on points once again. Hertha also had Vedad Ibisevic sent off at the death.
Match stats
- Kalou has scored four of his five goals this Bundesliga season against Dortmund. The Ivorian has struck three times in 2019
- Delaney scored his second Bundesliga goal for Dortmund, and ninth overall - eight of which have come on the road.
- All three of Zagadou's Bundesliga goals have come from corners.
- Reus is Dortmund's top scorer this season on 15 Bundesliga goals.
- Hertha's Davie Selke and Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro made their 50th Bundesliga appearances.
- Dortmund ended a run of three away games without a win.
- Hertha have taken four points from a possible six in home games against Bayern and Dortmund this season.
Line-ups
Hertha: Jarstein – Stark, Rekik, Torunarigha – Lazaro, Grujic, Maier, Mittelstädt – Duda (Lustenberger 90+2') – Selke (Leckie 77'), Kalou (c) (Ibisevic 77')
Unused subs: Kraft, Darida, Klünter, Plattenhardt
Out: Kade (ankle), Köpke (knee), Luckassen (ankle)
Coach: Pal Dardai
Dortmund: Bürki – Wolf (Hakimi 78'), Akanji, Zagadou, Diallo – Weigl, Delaney – Sancho (Toprak 90+6'), Pulisic, Bruun Larsen (Guerreiro 75') - Reus (c)
Unused subs: Hitz, Schmelzer, Dahoud, Gomez
Out: Alcacer (not considered), Götze (broken rib), Philipp (knee), Piszczek (heel), Witsel (groin)
Coach: Lucien Favre
Watch: Reus: "The title race will stay tight until the end"
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