Dortmund mini-slump continues in 2-2 draw at Frankfurt
BERLIN: Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund’s minislump continued yesterday as it wasted a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt. The slip allowed Bayern Munich a chance to go level on points with a win at Hamburger SV in the late game.
Nuri Sahin scored inside the first 20 minutes and Maximilian Philipp put Dortmund in a comfortable position on a counterattack before the hour-mark. It was the former Freiburg forward’s fifth Bundesliga goal of the season.
But Sebastian Haller pulled one back with a coolly taken penalty minutes later - conceded when goalkeeper Roman Buerki brought down Ante Rebic - then Marius Wolf equalized with a shot inside the far corner for his first Bundesliga goal.
“It shouldn’t happen,” Sahin said after the side let slip a two-goal lead for the first time since November 2014. Dortmund had missed several good chances before, notably through Philipp, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic, while Buerki had to be alert to deny Frankfurt as the game swung from end-to-end.
Buerki was criticized for his mistake in Dortmund’s 1-1 draw at Cypriot team APOEL in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday, and Sahin ran the length of the pitch after scoring to show the goalkeeper support.
“Every player is part of something bigger. I’ve always said that. I wanted to just show him that everyone can make mistakes and that we’re a team,” Sahin said. Jadon Sancho came on for his Bundesliga debut but the 17-yearold English prospect was denied in the final minute by Frankfurt goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, before Sahin’s effort from the rebound was cleared off the line.
It was Dortmund’s fourth game without a win from five matches across all competitions. Coach Peter Bosz had reshuffled his defense with Neven Subotic coming in for the suspended Sokratis. It was the Serbian’s first game for Dortmund since March 2016.
Bosz will also face questions after making changes with the side 2-0 up. Dortmund has now conceded in six games across all competitions - after starting the league clean in its first five games.
Bayer Leverkusen stunned Borussia Moenchengladbach with five second-half goals to recover from a halftime deficit in its 5-1 win. American Fabian Johnson fired the home side into an early lead but Sven Bender equalized after the break and Leon Baily and Julian Brandt scored in quick succession before Kevin Volland added another. Joel Pohjanpalo completed an afternoon to forget for Dieter Hecking’s side. Also, Leipzig defeated Stuttgart 1-0 at home, and Hannover won 2-1 at Augsburg.