Stunning VfB Stuttgart fightback dents Borussia Dortmund's title hopes
Borussia Dortmund missed the chance to go level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich after blowing 2-0 and 3-2 leads to draw 3-3 in a thriller with 10-man VfB Stuttgart.
Stuttgart 3-3 Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Haller 26' (assist: Malen), 1-2 Malen 33', 2-1 T. Coulibaly 78', 2-2 Vagnoman 84', 2-3 Reyna 90'+3, 3-3 Silas 90'+7
Sent off: Mavropanos 39'
Roared on by a partisan home crowd, Stuttgart made a confident start at odds with their relegation worries as Josha Vagnoman spooned over from an unmarked position inside the box after five minutes. Dortmund returned fire, with Fabian Bredlow pulling off a smart double save from Sebastien Haller and Julian Brandt. Mats Hummels was forced into evasive action to stop Vagnoman's knock-down finding Serhou Guirassy in the six-yard box soon after, but BVB landed the first meaningful blow, just when VfB were in the ascendancy. Donyell Malen was the architect, standing up his marker and arrowing a low cross into the danger zone for Haller to sweep a first-time strike in off the underside of the bar. Former Stuttgart goalkeeper Gregor Kobel denied Guirassy at close quarters in an encouraging sign for the hosts, but they were left with a mountain to climb when Malen lashed in a second goal shortly before Konstantinos Mavrapanos was sent off for a second bookable offence.
The crossbar prevented Jude Bellingham making it three early in the second half. Waldemar Anton put his body on the line to thwart Dortmund's next efffort through Raphael Guerreiro, with Karim Adeyemi unable to direct the rebound on target. Stuttgart had the ball in the net against the run of play when Guirassy dinked a cute finish over Kobel, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review. Adeyemi fired over with a fierce long-range effort, while substitute Marco Reus was denied in a promising one-on-one. To their credit, Stuttgart refused to throw in the towel as Silas shot over from close range and Guirassy tested Kobel. The crossbar got in the way of a deflected Reus free-kick in an end-to-end finale, with Tanguy Coulibaly's mazy run and finish off the unwitting Emre Can setting up a nervy race to the finish line. Vagnoman and Gio Reyna traded late goals, but just when BVB thought they were heading for victory, Silas fired in the unlikeliest of equalisers, seven minutes into added time. Dortmund stay two points behind Bayern, who drew at home to Hoffenheim, while VfB climb back out of the automatic relegation zone.
Match stats
- Stuttgart are unbeaten in three competitive games under Sebastian Hoeneß.
- Vagnoman has scored in successive Bundesliga games.
- Reyna scored his sixth Bundesliga goal of 2022/23.
- Malen has scored four goals in as many Bundesliga matches, as well as three assists in that time.
- Only fixtures between Dortmund and Hamburg (362) have seen more goals than Stuttgart vs. BVB (361) in Bundesliga history.
- Dortmund's former Paris Saint-Germain youth player Soumaila Coulibaly, 19, made his Bundesliga debut.
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Watch: Jude Bellingham staying positive
Teams
Stuttgart: Bredlow - Mavropanos, Anton, Zagadou - Vagnoman, Endo (c), Karazor, Sosa - Millot (T. Coulibaly 74'), Führich (Silas 62') - Guirassy (Tomas 74')
Unused subs: Müller, Stenzel, Haraguchi, Egloff, Dias, Perea
Out: Ito (ill), Nartey (stomach muscle), Pfeiffer (ill)
Coach: Sebastian Hoeneß
Dortmund: Kobel - Ryerson, Can, Hummels (c) (S. Coulibaly 46'), Guerreiro - Bellingham, Özcan, Brandt (Reus 63') - Malen (Bynoe-Gittens 69'), Haller (Moukoko 63') Adeyemi (Reyna 82')
Unused subs: Meyer, Dahoud, Wolf, Modeste
Out: Duranville (thigh), Morey (match fitness), Schlotterbeck (thigh), Süle (muscular)
Coach: Edin Terzic
Watch: Sebastien Haller on "guilty" Dortmund
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