Marcel Sabitzer’s stoppage-time free-kick was the decisive moment as Borussia Dortmund beat Werder Bremen 3-2 to reach the third round of the DFB-Pokal.
With the tie level after Werder had recovered from two goals down, Sabitzer curled a superb effort beyond Karl Hein and into the top-left corner in the third minute of added time at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.
The goal was Sabitzer’s first direct free-kick for a club since September 2019, when he scored for RB Leipzig against Werder Bremen.
Dortmund appeared to be in control after Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka scored inside the opening 17 minutes. Maximilian Beier also had a goal ruled out during a dominant first half for Niko Kovac’s side.
However, Werder substitute Niclas Fullkrug changed the course of the match within three second-half minutes. He converted a 65th-minute penalty before producing a fine run and finish to equalise.
Nico Schlotterbeck said Dortmund should have put the match beyond Werder before allowing their opponents back into the contest.
“We had everything under control in the first half, and then Carney and Serhou had a huge chance to make it three-zero,” Schlotterbeck said.
“After the penalty kick, we were on the ropes, played very sloppy football, hit a lot of long balls over the top, and lost a lot of second balls.
“Werder Bremen deserved to make it two-one and two-two. In the end, it was a fifty-fifty game that was decided by a stroke of genius.
“For some reason, [Marcel Sabitzer] seems to be in charge of the really big goals. Take the game against Atletico, for example, and now this one against Bremen.
“We advanced, so we’ll play in the third round in early December. I’m really excited about that.”
Dortmund had six first-half shots and recorded an expected goals (xG) figure of 0.9, compared with Werder’s 0.29 from five attempts at Gregor Kobel’s goal.
The visitors were more effective after the interval, winning the second-half xG battle 1.24 to 0.46. Werder also had more attempts, with seven shots to Dortmund’s six, and registered four shots on target compared with one by the hosts.
Kovac admitted he was unhappy with the way Dortmund surrendered their advantage, despite ultimately progressing.
“To be honest, after being up 2-0 at the half, I didn’t like how things went off the rails. We should have sealed the game in the first half,” Kovac said.
“And after [Carney Chukwuemeka’s] chance in the second half, we just needed to see it through. We failed to do so, and then it turned into a wild match.
“That’s not how I picture things going. We were way too open. Bremen managed to break through the middle four or five times.
“Tactically, we didn’t do a good job. With that said, all’s well that ends well.”
