Aubameyang breaks record as Dortmund are held
Sinsheim - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became the first Bundesliga player ever to score in each of the opening six games of a season, but couldn't prevent Borussia Dortmund dropping points for the first time this season in a 1-1 draw with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM 1-1 BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Goals: 1-0 Rudy (42’), 1-1 Aubameyang (55’)
With Hoffenheim set up to absorb pressure and break on the counter, Dortmund were quick to assume control, but were doing little with the lion's share of possession to truly threaten Oliver Baumann's goal. Aubameyang was the only player pulling the trigger for the visitors, who after a positive start to the fast-paced proceedings, fell behind shortly before the break when Eduardo Vargas played in Sebastian Rudy to put the finishing touch on a quick break from a tight angle.
Thomas Tuchel brought on both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gündogan early in the second half in a bid to turn the tide in his side's favour, but almost saw his side fall further behind when Kevin Volland clipped an effort off the post. Ten minutes after the restart though, Dortmund pulled level with Aubameyang firing in from close range. With the bit between their teeth, BVB kept themselves on the front foot despite the hard-fought nature of the encounter, but were unable to carve out a winner as both Gonzalo Castro and Adrian Ramos spurned golden opportunities late on.
Man of the match
Dortmund’s may have dropped points for the first time this season, but Aubameyang’s purple patch is showing no signs of dissipating as the Gabon international put in another fine shift up front, firing off the most shots in the game whilst breaking a Bundesliga record with his equaliser. The only Dortmund player to have ever scored seven goals in the first six games of a season was Lothar Emmerich, who had netted nine times at this stage of the 1965/66 season.
Talking point
Struggling to make the most of their chances was a characteristic of Dortmund’s disappointing 2014/15 campaign and one that reared it’s ugly head once again in Sinsheim. The visitors combination play was as slick as ever, but with Hoffenheim getting men behind the ball as often as possible, the lack of killer instinct in the final third ultimately proved costly and is something Thomas Tuchel will be keen not to see again anytime soon.
Stats of the match
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the first player in Bundesliga history to score at least once in the opening six games of a season.Sebastian Rudy ended an over six-month long goal drought by scoring his first goal since 14 March 2015.
Line-ups
Hoffenheim: Baumann - Kaderabek, Bicakcic, Süle, Toljan - Rudy (Zuber 78'), Schwegler, Polanski (Strobl 63’), Schmid - Volland, Vargas (Kuranyi 89')
Dortmund: Bürki - Ginter, Sokratis, Hummels, Schmelzer - Weigl - Hofmann (Mkhitaryan 46’), Castro (Ramos 77'), Kagawa, Reus (Gündogan 54’) - Aubameyang
