Niclas Füllkrug just delivered a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer for Werder Bremen, snatching a share of the spoils from an unbeaten Borussia Dortmund squad that absolutely choked away a 2-0 lead. What a wild ride for Matchday 5’s curtain-raiser.
Dortmund’s Defense Cracks Under Pressure
Dortmund went into this game with big news on the backline: Nico Schlotterbeck, who was supposed to be out for weeks with an ankle injury after pulling from the German national team, was back in the starting XI way sooner than anyone expected. Meanwhile, Bremen’s manager Daniel Thioune stuck with the exact same team for the fourth Bundesliga game in a row. The last time the Green-Whites did that many times was back in 2025, when Ole Werner led them to four straight wins between Matchday 27 and 30.
Bremen sat deep, happy to let Dortmund have the ball early, but they were the ones creating the better chances in the first half. Füllkrug headed wide in the 18th minute, then threaded a ball through to Ludovit Reis 10 minutes later, who agonizingly fired wide of Gregor Kobel’s post. After the break, former Arsenal keeper Karl Hein was a brick wall, denying Ethan Nwaneri’s deflected shot. Nwaneri dragged another wide, then had a bicycle kick goal ruled out for an Anton foul in the buildup. Hein also reacted brilliantly to deny Nwaneri earlier, who almost opened his Dortmund account. It felt like Dortmund was pushing, but that defense from Bremen was just *there*.
Five Minutes of Fury and a Gut Punch Finish
Persistence eventually paid off for Dortmund, though, taking an 80th-minute lead when Daniel Svensson tapped home in front of the Yellow Wall, marking his 50th Bundesliga game. Just five minutes later, Schlotterbeck doubled their lead, and everyone in Signal Iduna Park thought it was over. But oh man, were they wrong.
Werder Bremen refused to quit. Reis silenced the home crowd in the 88th minute with a strike from distance, cutting the lead to one. Then, with extreme determination, the equalizer landed in stoppage time. It was Füllkrug, a former Dortmund striker, whose thumping header nestled into the net to officially bring an end to BVB’s perfect, unbeaten start to the season. What a punch to the gut. Hein, the Bremen goalie, was a standout with an 8 rating, while Dortmund’s Svensson had a 4, and Beier and Guirassy both ended up with 3s. This one’s gonna sting.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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