Borussia Dortmund beat Werder Bremen 3-2 in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday. Marcel Sabitzer scored a sensational free-kick in the 93rd minute to put them through after the visitors had fought back a two-goal deficit to draw level.
Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka had given the Prussians a two-goal cushion inside the opening 20 minutes but Niclas Fullkrug came off the bench to score twice for Bremen, including a penalty.
As the BVB now await their fortunes in the Round of 16, here's what they got wrong:
1) Dortmund failed to put the game to bed
Borussia Dortmund were leading 2-0 at the start of the second half as Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka scored early on in the match. But as we've seen on numerous occasions since last term, the BVB failed to kill the game off with a third goal and it wasn't for the lack of chances.
Chukwuemeka had a glorious chance to add a third goal in the 56th minute. The Austrian came into possession near the box and raced forward to square it for Guirassy, who then cut it back for him to send the midfielder through, but the 23-year-old failed to connect with it properly as Bremen goalkeeper Karl Hein came off his line and cleared the ball away.
2) Looking vulnerable in midfield
That miss was the start of a decline which led to Bremen clawing their way back into the match. One major problem as Dortmund's midfield becoming increasingly vulnerable after the break. The visitors had a lot of room to operate from and consistently found a way to get forward.
Mick Schmetgens won the penalty for Bremen after Julian Ryerson brought him down inside the box in a desperate challenge but Fullkrug's second goal was a more damning indictment of BVB's sloppy play in the centre of the park as the striker raced through three yellow shirts before arrowing a strike into the far corner for 2-2.
3) Losing attacking impetus after Bremen comeback
Werder Bremen's comeback should have spurred Dortmund on, but the side continued to go through the motions, lacking in the bite and urgency in the attack which they had displayed all too well during the opening spell.
The River Islanders had turned the tide with Fullkrug's introduction and were now in control of the match after having spent much of it on the backfoot. Die Borussen toiled for attacking inspiration in the closing stages until Marcel Sabitzer produced a moment of magic from a free-kick to win it for them.
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