Dortmund Pull Out 2-1 Win Over Hoffenheim; Move To Third In Bundesliga Table

DORTMUND, GERMANY — In the most important match of the season, 3rd place side TSG Hoffenheim made their way to Dortmund to face off against the men in black and yellow. After ninety minutes of poor play, Dortmund squeaked out a 2-1 victory courtesy of poor officiating and a bit of luck.

Match Recap

From the start, Dortmund came out looking to put Hoffenheim early. Before fans could even take a seat or lock their eyes in on the match, Dortmund had already put the ball in the net.

In the 4th minute of play, Marco Reus got behind the Hoffenheim backline and slotted home the opener. After a replay or two, it was clear that Reus was offside.

But, Dortmund took advantage of a missed call to take a 1-0 lead after four.

Ten minutes later, Dortmund was on the offensive again. After bringing down a through-ball with his arm (not called,) Reus whipped in a cross in front of goal. Before the ball could reach the center of the box, it took a deflection off of Hoffenheim defender Pavel Kaderábek, thus resulting in a penalty for Dortmund.

Despite technically earning the penalty, Reus did not step up to take the penalty. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang claimed responsibility for the penalty and stepped up to try to put the home side ahead. Unfortunately, Aubameyang struck the ball wide left, thus leaving Dortmund only one goal ahead.

Following the Aubameyang miss, Dortmund began to lose control of the match. Hoffenheim began to create chances in the Dortmund half while carrying 55% possession into halftime.

As the second began, Hoffenheim continued to chip away in the Dortmund, but none of their chances came to fruition. Eventually, as the second half came to a close, Dortmund made Hoffenheim pay for not getting on the score sheet.

In the 83rd minute, Aubameyang avenged his earlier penalty miss by heading home arguably the easiest goal of his career. With Aubameyang’s goal, Dortmund looked like they were ready to walk away with three points.

However, not even a minute after, Hoffenheim were gifted a penalty by Matthias Ginter. Andrej Kramarić calmly placed the ball down the middle to bring Hoffenheim a goal adrift.

But, it was too little too late for the visitors as Dortmund held out defensively to secure three points and a third place spot in the Bundesliga table.

In all seriousness, today was an ugly match by both sides. But, when you earn three points, everything else is forgotten.

Dortmund now sits two points clear of Hoffenheim with two matches left. Next week, if Dortmund can win against FC Augsburg, they can clinch an automatic berth to the Champions League group stage, provided Hoffenheim lose against red-hot Werder Bremen.