Luca Waldschmidt on target as battling Freiburg hold Borussia Dortmund
Luca Waldschmidt was among the goals once again as Freiburg put in a battling display to snatch a deserved at draw at home to Borussia Dortmund.
Freiburg 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Witsel (20'), 1-1 Waldschmidt (55'), 1-2 Hakimi (67'), 2-2 Akanji (o.g. 90')
Lucien Favre's men had dropped of the pace at the top of the Bundesliga standings in recent weeks following two consecutive 2-2 draws and they began here intent on picking up three points again. Dortmund dominated possession, having close to 70 per cent in the first half, and following an early chance for Julian Brandt, they took the lead when Axel Witsel smashed in a brilliant volley from a corner. Brandt should have doubled the visitors' advantage shortly after the half-hour mark but headed over the bar from Mario Götze's pass with just Alexander Schwolow to beat. Freiburg were not without chances of their own, however, and Waldschmidt fired over after being sent one-on-one against Roman Bürki, while Christian Günter fired wide from a tight angle, forcing Dortmund to stay on their toes until the break.
Perhaps sensing that their visitors were vulnerable, Freiburg began the second half with far greater purpose, aggressively pressing their guests and adopting a more attacking approach. It did not take long for their efforts to be rewarded, as Waldschmidt finished off a brilliant move down the right, jinking past Manuel Akanji on the edge of the box before firing past Bürki. Favre reacted by bringing Jadon Sancho off the bench and the England international had a swift impact, finding Achraf Hakimi out wide on the right. The Morocco international skipped past Günter, cut inside and drilled Dortmund into the lead again from close range. There was to be another late twist though, as Freiburg substitute Vincenzo Grifo's teasing cross in the 90th minute was inadvertently put into his own net by Akanji, giving the hosts a deserved point and sealing a third successive 2-2 draw for Dortmund.
Watch: Witsel: "We need to come back stronger"
Match stats
- Waldschmidt made his Bundesliga debut against Dortmund for Eintracht Frankfurt in April 2015. The Germany U21 international has 13 goals in his last 14 games for club and country.
- Sancho was on the bench for a competitive game for the first time this season.
- After 650 minutes of play without a goal at home to Dortmund, Freiburg finally ended their drought. Before Waldschmidt, the last Freiburg player to score against BVB at the Schwarzwald-Stadion was Jan Rosenthal.
- Waldschmidt has now scored 10 of his 13 Bundesliga goals on home turf.
- Having hit a brace against Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday, Hakimi scored his third goal of the week. His strike was Dortmund's 100th in the Bundesliga under Favre, coming in his 41st league game at the club.
- Freiburg's haul of 14 points from the first seven games is their best-ever start to a Bundesliga season.
Line-ups
Freiburg: Schwolow – Kübler (Grifo 84'), Koch, Heintz – Schmid, Haberer, Abrashi (Petersen 75'), Günter (c) – Höler (Sallai 68'), Waldschmidt, Höfler
Unused subs: Flekken, Schlotterback, Gulde, Borrello, Kwon, Jeong
Out: Frantz (groin), Kath (knock)
Coach: Christian Streich
Dortmund: Bürki – Piszczek (Brandt 14', Schmelzer 87'), Akanji, Hummels, Hakimi – Witsel, Delaney – Hazard (Sancho 63'), Reus (c), Guerreiro – Götze
Unused subs: Hitz, Zagadou, Dahoud, Morey, Weigl, Bruun Larsen
Out: Alcacer (Achilles tendon), Schulz (ankle)
Coach: Lucien Favre
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