Gio Reyna makes history as Borussia Dortmund beat Hoffenheim in dramatic thriller
Gio Reyna scored on the day he became the youngest player to make 50 Bundesliga appearances and Erling Haaland got an incredible late winner as Borussia Dortmund edged Hoffenheim 3-2 after late drama at Signal Iduna Park.
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Hoffenheim
Goals: 1-0 Reyna (49'), 1-1 Baumgartner (61'), 2-1 Bellingham (69'), 2-2 Dabbur (90'), 3-2 Haaland (90'+1)
Hoffenheim fired off an early warning shot in the third minute when Andrej Kramaric headed a Jacob Bruun Larsen cross back off the Dortmund crossbar, but that only served to spark BVB to life and they dominated the rest of the first half. Reyna was sent through on the break only a minute later but couldn't beat Oliver Baumann with his left-footed effort. The TSG goalkeeper was again in action moments later to thwart a strong Manuel Akanji header. Thomas Meunier and Marco Reus both had efforts off target in front of an encouraging 25,000 crowd at Signal Iduna Park. Erling Haaland was then in on the action after interplay with Reus, but the new UEFA Men's Forward of the Season couldn't direct his header at the far post on goal. Despite all the black-and-yellow dominance, Hoffenheim almost took the lead before the break when former BVB winger Bruun Larsen pounced on a loose ball in midfield and played in Christoph Baumgartner, but he was denied by Gregor Kobel to round off a hectic first 45 minutes despite the lack of goals.
There was a sense of deja-vu to begin the second half as Hoffenheim started on the front foot but failed to get away a telling shot. Dortmund then went up the other end and Reyna made no mistake this time as he latched onto Bellingham's pass on the edge of the box and thrashed it past Baumann. Kramaric had a golden chance to level things up on the hour mark when TSG again took advantage of lax play in midfield and sent the Croatian away through the middle, but Kobel produced a brilliant save one-on-one to deny him. There was little the new BVB goalkeeper could do moments later, though, when Dennis Geiger slipped in Baumgartner down the right and he drilled his shot across Kobel and into the far corner to equalise. However, the Borussia lead was restored in style by Bellingham. Having created the first goal, the 18-year-old controlled an attempted clearance on his thigh and fired a half-volley into the bottom corner. Hoffenheim thought they had earned a point in the final minute when Munas Dabbur put away a corner flicked on to the far post, but Haaland would have the last say. Baumann had made two sharp stops from close range to deny Marius Wolf and Youssoufa Moukoko but was powerless when the Norwegian lashed home the third from a couple of yards out to snatch the three points.
Match stats
- Reyna made his 50th Bundesliga appearance, succeeding Kai Havertz as the youngest player to reach that milestone at 18 years, nine months and 14 days.
- The American midfielder has now scored five of his six Bundesliga goals at home. All six have been with his right foot.
- Haaland became the youngest player to score 43 Bundesliga goals, getting them in 46 games. Only Uwe Seeler had reached that total in fewer matches (44).
- Bellingham got a goal and an assist. The former was only his second in the Bundesliga and first at home.
- Dortmund extended their club-record run of scoring in Bundesliga games to 35 straight matches.
- BVB made it six straight wins at home in the league, ending Hoffenheim's nine-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga stretching back to April.
Watch: Bellingham: "The three points are all that matter"
Line-ups
Dortmund: Kobel - Meunier, Witsel, Akanji, Guerreiro (Passlack 84') – Bellingham (Wolf 72'), Dahoud, Reyna (Brandt 63') - Reus (c) - Haaland, Malen (Moukoko 84')
Unused subs: Hitz, Reinier, Gürpüz, Papadopoulos
Out: Can (match fitness), Coulibaly (knee), Hazard (ankle), Hummels (knee), Morey (knee), Schmelzer (knee), Schulz (thigh), Zagadou (knee)
Coach: Marco Rose
Hoffenheim: Baumann - Akpoguma, Posch, Vogt (c), Raum - Geiger (Dabbur 83'), Stiller (Rutter 46') - Baumgartner (Adamyan 70'), Rudy, Bruun Larsen (Gacinovic 70') - Kramaric
Unused subs: Pentke, Adams, Samassekou, John, Skov
Out: Bebou (match fitness), Bicakcic (knee), Hübner (ankle), Kaderabek (calf), Nordtveit (thigh)
Coach: Sebastian Hoeneß
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