Jadon Sancho brace matched by Salomon Kalou as Dortmund held at home by Hertha Berlin
A Jadon Sancho double was not enough to earn Borussia Dortmund all three points as Salomon Kalou also scored a brace to earn Hertha Berlin a 2-2 draw at the Signal Iduna Park.
Dortmund 2-2 Hertha Berlin
Goals: 1-0 Sancho (27'), 1-1 Kalou (41'), 2-1 Sancho (61'), 2-2 Kalou (90+1', pen.)
Achraf Hakimi and Jadon Sancho both had early chances as Dortmund flooded forward in numbers. Hakimi was alert to take the ball off Vedad Ibisevic's toes as Hertha threatened on the counter-attack, Niklas Stark testing Roman Bürki from the consequent corner. Hakimi had another effort deflect agonisingly wide of the far post, before Video Assist intervened to chalk off Sancho's outstanding backheeled finish from a Marco Reus pass, albeit after the German forward had only marginally moved into an offside position. The England international only had to wait ten more minutes before scoring a valid goal, though, coolly slotting the ball inside the near post after Mario Götze timed his assist to perfection. Dortmund's excellent first-half work was nevertheless undone when a rare mistake by Mahmoud Dahoud was punished ruthlessly, Maximilian Mittelstädt curling a sweeping pass into the path of a predatory Salomon Kalou, who brought the Old Lady level before the break.
Kalou could have put Hertha ahead early in the second half, but he was unable to get any direction on a volley after once again losing his marker, then Vladimir Darida – making his first appearance of the season as a half-time substitute – rifled another effort over as Hertha made a bright start to the second 45 minutes. Hakimi sent Dortmund's first chance of the second period into the side-netting and he would have been celebrating his second goal of the season had Sancho not made sure, almost apologetically completing his first Bundesliga brace from close range. Raphael Guerreiro could have wrapped up victory, but he shot straight at Rune Jarstein, while Jacob Bruun Larsen also squandered an opportunity late on. They were made to pay the price too as Davie Selke, after being denied by Roman Bürki, was felled inside the penalty area, allowing Kalou to snatch a point from the spot.
Match stats
- Sancho scored for a third game running, after goals against Stuttgart and Atletico Madrid.The England international completed his first Bundesliga brace and four of his five competitive goals for Dortmund have come in his past three appearances.He became the first player born in the new millennium to score a Bundesliga brace.Dortmund have 29 goals after nine games – they had never had more than 25 at this stage of a season.Kalou scored his 40th and 41st Bundesliga goals, moving ahead of Didier Ya Konan as the most prolific Ivorian scorer in Bundesliga history.
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Line-ups
Dortmund: Bürki – Piszczek (Toprak 90+2'), Diallo, Zagadou, Hakimi – Witsel, Dahoud – Sancho (Pulisic 72'), Reus (c), Guerreiro (Bruun Larsen 79') – Götze
Unused subs: Hitz, Weigl, Wolf, Philipp
Absentees: Schmelzer (knee), Akanji (hip), Alcacer (thigh), Delaney (foot)
Coach: Lucien Favre
Hertha: Jarstein – Stark, Lustenberger, Rekik – Lazaro, Maier, Skjelbred (Darida 46'), Mittelstädt – Kalou, Duda (Dilrosun, 70') – Ibisevic (c) (Selke 57')
Unused subs: Kraft, Köpke, Plattenhardt, Luckassen
Absentees: Gersbeck (cruciate ligament), Kade (ankle), Torunarigha, Grujic (both fitness)
Coach: Pal Dardai
Watch: Sancho on Dortmund's title credentials
As it happened