BVB Dortmund Borussia Dortmund - STP St. Pauli St. Pauli

E. Can
90' +6'
72'
R. Jones
62'
J. Sands
K. Adeyemi
54'

J. Brandt
45' +1'

SIGNAL IDUNA PARK(Sold out)

Harm Osmers

40 %Karim Adeyemi

0:18

Watch: Can frustrated despite win

0:14

Watch: Blessin on Pauli's "amazing performance"

0:49

Watch: Dortmund celebrate dramatic win

Full-time: Dortmund 3-2 Pauli

Emre Can's injury-time penalty spares Dortmund's blushes. Pauli showed tremendous spirit to fight back from 2-0 down, but they head home pointless and still in the relegation zone.

Full-time

90'

+ 8

Last chance

Sands forces a corner, with Vasilj up for it, but Guirassy hoofs it clear.

Can scores!

Surely the winning goal as Can tucks away the spot-kick, the Dortmund captain placing the ball just out of Vasilj's reach.

90'

+ 6

Emre Can

GOAL!

3:2

Penalty

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

77 %

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

96.64 km/h

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

11 m

90'

+ 4

Late drama!

Jones catches Beier on the corner of the penalty area. Is it in or out? After a lengthy review, it's given as a pen...

90'

+ 3

Dangerous territory

Beier's caught by Jones on the right-hand corner of the Pauli area. Free-kick to come...

90'

+ 2

Close!

Andō and Vasilj combine to stop Can's near-post cross from behind turned home. It's all Dortmund...

90'

+ 1

Four added minutes

Will there be a late twist in the tale?

90'

SituationNo penalty

ReviewInside penalty area?

DecisionPenalty

90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Ricky-Jade Jones34.65km/h

Emre Can33.57km/h

Louis Oppie33.35km/h

87'

Backs to the wall

Dortmund have the ball in the Pauli half, with every visiting player back defending...

84'

Fresh legs in midfield

Messrs Özcan and Chukwuemeka are on for Dortmund, who have already lost 10 points from winning positions this season...

83'

Substitution

Salih Özcan

Felix Nmecha

83'

Substitution

Carney Chukwuemeka

Julian Brandt

82'

Eeesssh

Relief for Vasilj as a Svensson cross comes a long way before hitting him, rebounding off a white shirt and back into his grateful arms.

0:17

Denied!

Jones races in behind the Dortmund defence, but he can't beat Kobel at the Swiss custodian's near post. It's another warning for the hosts, mind!

What a finish!

Svensson gives away a free-kick on the right-hand side. Smith whips it into the area, where Ricky Jade-Jones hooks an emphatic volley into the far corner. Incredible!

72'

Ricky-Jade Jones

GOAL!

2:2

Goal probability

7 %

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

78.69 km/h

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

13.11 m

71'

Dortmund changes

Guirassy replaces Silva who - like Adeyemi - was involved in both Dortmund goals. Max Beier and Yan Couto are also sent on, with Ryerson the third BVB player to make way.

71'

Substitution

Maximilian Beier

Karim Adeyemi

71'

Substitution

Yan Couto

Julian Ryerson

71'

Substitution

Serhou Guirassy

Fabio Silva

70'

Yell-ingham

Bellingham's booked for kicking the ball away after the ref's whistle had blown.

69'

Yellow card

Jobe Bellingham

67'

New energy

That goal and those changes have really lifted the visitors as Smith sends in another corner that Kobel pushes over, before the whistle sounds for a foul on the BVB keeper.

65'

Triple change

Blessin shows his hand, with Bundesliga debutant Tomoya Ando among the players sent on.

64'

Substitution

Ricky-Jade Jones

Martijn Kaars

64'

Substitution

Louis Oppie

Lars Ritzka

64'

Substitution

Tomoya Andō

Adam Dźwigała

63'

Well, well!

Smith sends over the resultant corner, with Sands rising highest to loop a header beyond Kobel and halve the deficit. Pauli fought back from the brink to hold Dortmund on Matchday 1 - can they repeat the trick?

62'

James Sands

GOAL!

2:1

Goal probability

12 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

7.76 m

61'

Keep going

Pauli heads haven't dropped since that second Dortmund goal. They're continuing to push forward as Svensson chases back to concede a corner.

58'

Expected Goals

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

Dortmund haven't created a great deal, but they've been clinical when those chances have come.

xGoals

2.53

0.41

Goals

55'

Two-goal buffer!

Adeyemi adds a goal to his earlier assist. It's a lovely up-field pass from Brandt to find Silva, who does brilliantly to keep the ball away from his marker. He selflessly drops it off as Vasilj races out, and Adeyemi can't miss.

54'

Karim Adeyemi

GOAL!

2:0

Goal probability

85 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

15.63 m

52'

Distance runners

Distance run (km)

7.6

7.5

Daniel Svensson James Sands

48'

Encouraging signs

Strong start to the second half from the visitors. They're pressing higher up the pitch and trying to get more men forward.

46'

No changes

Both sides as they were at the start of the second half.

Kick-off!

Chancellor enjoying game

Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz is in attendance today. He's a long-time friend of former Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.

Half-time: Dortmund 1-0 St. Pauli

Julian Brandt's stoppage-time goal sends Dortmund in at the break with a slender lead. It'll be a tough one to take for Pauli, who switched off defensively at the worst possible time. Until then, they'd given very little away whilst creating a couple of half chances of their own.

Half-time

Dortmund lead!

So harsh on Pauli, but it's a great goal by Dortmund. Adeyemi's the architect as he drives past Ritzka and whips a low cross into the six-yard box. Silva misses it at the front post, but so do all the white shirts and there's Brandt to side-foot home from close range.

45'

+ 1

Julian Brandt

GOAL!

1:0

Goal probability

93 %

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

72.06 km/h

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

6.2 m

0:25

Feisty

Adeyemi's next into the book for a late challenge on Mets. The Pauli man returns the favour moments later, but escapes a booking.

43'

Yellow card

Karim Adeyemi

39'

Caution

After allowing play to go on, the referee calls back Smith for an earlier tug on Can.

38'

Better!

Can injects a bit of urgency into proceedings with a powerful forward run and inside pass to Brandt. He helps it on for Svensson, whose low cross is put behind for a corner. Schlotterbeck meets Ryerson's delivery, but his header is straight into the back of a Pauli defender.

38'

Yellow card

Eric Smith

Pauli spirit

Blessin will be delighted with his team's approach so far. They're making life very difficult for BVB, and certainly don't look like a team fighting to stay in the Bundesliga!

30'

Yikes!

Nervy moment as Vasilj miscontrols a back-pass from Wahl before clearing, with Adeyemi in hot pursuit. He's lucky the flight path of the ball took him away from his goal!

30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Karim-David Adeyemi33.30km/h

Arkadiusz Pyrka32.09km/h

Daniel Jonathan Svensson31.61km/h

28'

Kobel made to work

A ball's played in to the near post for Perreira Lage, but Kobel makes himself big to block the shot, which lacked any real power. Encouraging from the visitors!

26'

Almost!

Brandt goes up and over the Pauli wall but with Vasilj rooted to the spot the ball goes fractionally wide of the upright.

24'

Set-piece alert

Sands brings down Brandt in the 'D'. It's a very presentable opening for the BVB No.10 - one that all came about following a quite brilliant flick from Silva...

22'

Win probability

Dortmund are still the heavy favourites, despite being largely frustrated by a dogged Pauli defence so far.

71.6 %

Now

66.8 %

18'

No hands

Schlotterbeck concedes a free-kick for a fierce challenge on Pyrka. Kaars goes for a first-time attempt from the ensuing cross, with the ball striking Silva. The referee initially points to the spot, before changing his mind upon VAR review. That clearly struck the BVB forward in the midriff.

18'

SituationPenalty

ReviewHandball?

DecisionNo penalty

16'

Yellow card

Nico Schlotterbeck

0:21

And there's the chance!

Vasilj punches a Ryerson cross out to Brandt, who shows great technique to wrap his right foot around the bouncing ball, but Hauke Wahl is able to hook it away in front of the goal-line.

12'

Tale of the tape

BVB continue to dominate the early exchanges, albeit without testing the visiting defence from open play.

Possession (%)

6337

Right idea

Pauli break out with Fujita, who arcs a teasing ball towards the back post. However, Svensson uses his body to great effect to prevent Perreira Lage from getting anything on the cross.

Danger!

Schlotterbeck flicks on a long throw from Ryerson, but Fujita reacts quickest to clear before Silva can pounce.

Clear pattern

Dortmund have taken complete control of possession. They're playing on the front foot against a Pauli side who look content to sit deep and wait for their chances to counter.

Under way!

The ball's rolling, with Dortmund in their traditional black-and-yellow home strip. Pauli are dressed in white.

Kick-off!

Twelfth man

Can wins the coin toss, the BVB skipper electing to play with the Yellow Wall behind his team in the first half and shoot towards them in the second.

A sea of black and yellow...

... and a pocket of travelling brown greets the players as they emerge from the tunnel. As ever, the Signal Iduna Park is bouncing. Pauli have never won here in any competition...

Goals on the Kaar-d-s?

Martijn Kaars has only found the net twice - against Heidenheim on Matchday 14 - in his debut top-flight season, but did stick away 19 goals in Bundesliga 2 for Magdeburg last term. With four-goal top scorer Andréas Hountondji currently on the sidelines with an ankle injury, is the Dutch forward the man to transform the fortunes of the division's tamest attack (14 goals)?

Midfield heartbeat

Amidst fierce competition for places in the Dortmund midfield, Felix Nmecha has emerged as a key player under Kovač this season. The 25-year-old makes his 15th league start of 2025/26 today, and eighth in a row.

The Kovač effect

Kovač is approaching almost a year in charge of Dortmund, having been brought in to replace Nuri Şahin on 2 February 2025. BVB were 10th at the time, but went on to finish fourth and have been Bayern's closest pursuers for much of the current campaign. The Croatian's overseen 51 competitive games, winning 30 (D12, L9) and has lost only one of his last 25 in the league (2-1 to Bayern on 18 October 2025).

Table talk

Dortmund will stay second whatever happens today, but can close the gap on leaders Bayern Munich - who visit third-placed RB Leipzig in the Saturday late game - to eight points with a win. At the opposite at of the spectrum, Pauli start the day in the automatic relegation zone. The bottom three are currently locked on 12 points, with three to make up on the safe house. However, Blessin's team have a game in hand after their Matchday 16 meeting with Werder Bremen was postponed, rescheduled for 22 February.

More on those teams

Niko Kovač makes five changes to the midweek win over Bremen, with Emre Can, Jobe Bellingham, Daniel Svensson, Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt cycled in for Niklas Süle, Marcel Sabitzer, Yan Couto, Maximilian Beier and Carney Chukwuemeka. Despite scoring as a substitute last time out, Serhou Guirassy begins on the bench once more. As for Pauli, Martijn Kaars replaces English forward Ricky-Jade Jones in head coach Alexander Blessin's only change to the starting XI that lined up in the 2-1 defeat at Wolfsburg.

Starting line-up: Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund subs

Meyer, Mané, Süle, Couto, Chukwuemeka, Özcan, Duranville, Beier, Guirassy

Starting line-up: FC St. Pauli

Pauli subs

Gazdov, Saliakas, Stevens, Andō, Oppie, Robatsch, Ceesay, Afolayan, Jones

0:11

Safe hands

0:30

Enter Signal Iduna Park

Niko Kovač on facing St. Pauli

"They're a team that defends very compactly for 90 minutes. I rarely see that kind of performance. It will require patience, commitment, and intensity from us. We have to put them under pressure from the first minute. If we can do it like we did in the second half against Bremen, we will be fine."

Pauli struggling for form

The Kiezkicker have won just one of their past 13 Bundesliga games, with that victory coming on Matchday 14 against Heidenheim. Nevertheless, they have progressed to the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup, where they will face Bayer Leverkusen away from home.

Alexander Blessin on facing Dortmund

"We definitely want to take something away from there. We'll have 7,000 fans behind us, and playing in Dortmund is always special. I don't need any extra motivation. The stadium and the opponents will ensure that we give our all to finish off the week well."

Distant memories

St. Pauli beat Dortmund at home in the DFB Cup last 16 in 2022, but have not defeated them in the Bundesliga since back in 1989.

Plenty of points

The 36 points currently to Dortmund's name also make it the best first half of a season for the club in seven years - and they have 11 more points than they did at this stage last season.

Dortmund's proud run

Dortmund have lost just one of their last 25 Bundesliga matches going back to last season - a 2-1 defeat at Bayern earlier this season.

1:01

Watch: Wolfsburg 2-1 St. Pauli - highlights

St. Pauli were plunged into further trouble as a late goal from Dženan Pejčinović saw them succumb to a narrow defeat against relegation rivals Wolfsburg. With Mainz winning, Pauli now sit in 17th, albeit with a game in hand.

Head-to-head

Dortmund have lost only one of their past 15 matches against St. Pauli in all competitions, while they have not tasted defeat against the Hamburg-based outfit in the Bundesliga since 1989. Pauli, though, did beat Dortmund in the 2021/22 DFB Cup last 16 2-1, a game in which Erling Haaland scored for BVB.

2:03

Watch: St. Pauli 3-3 Dortmund - previous meeting

When these two sides met back in August, it was St. Pauli who had the last laugh after mounting a stunning late comeback at Millerntor-Stadion to draw the game 3-3. Despite that result, it's BVB who've had the upper hand historically, winning 13 of their 19 Bundesliga matches against Pauli to date.

1:02

Watch: Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Werder Bremen - highlights

Borussia Dortmund consolidated second place after returning to winning ways at home to Werder Bremen with goals from Nico Schlotterbeck, Marcel Sabitzer and Serhou Guirassy.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 18 fixture between Borussia Dortmund and FC St. Pauli.

BVB Dortmund Borussia Dortmund - STP St. Pauli St. Pauli

Vote for your Man of the Match!

Watch: Can frustrated despite win

Watch: Blessin on Pauli's "amazing performance"

Watch: Dortmund celebrate dramatic win

Full-time: Dortmund 3-2 Pauli

Last chance

Can scores!

GOAL!

Late drama!

Dangerous territory

Close!

Four added minutes

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Backs to the wall

Fresh legs in midfield

Substitution

Substitution

Eeesssh

Denied!

What a finish!

GOAL!

Dortmund changes

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Yell-ingham

Yellow card

New energy

Triple change

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Well, well!

GOAL!

Keep going

Expected Goals

Two-goal buffer!

GOAL!

Distance runners

Encouraging signs

No changes

Chancellor enjoying game

Half-time: Dortmund 1-0 St. Pauli

Dortmund lead!

GOAL!

Feisty

Yellow card

Caution

Better!

Yellow card

Pauli spirit

Yikes!

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Kobel made to work

Almost!

Set-piece alert

Win probability

No hands

Yellow card

And there's the chance!

Tale of the tape

Right idea

Danger!

Clear pattern

Under way!

Twelfth man

A sea of black and yellow...

Goals on the Kaar-d-s?

Midfield heartbeat

The Kovač effect

Table talk

More on those teams

Starting line-up: Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund subs

Starting line-up: FC St. Pauli

Pauli subs

Safe hands

Enter Signal Iduna Park

Niko Kovač on facing St. Pauli