With an unforgettable comeback, promoted Werder Bremen defeated the champion candidate Borussia Dortmund – and thus even secured an entry in the history books of the Bundesliga. Because what happened in Dortmund has never happened in Germany’s top division.
Wonderfully crazy Bundesliga, what was going on please? Within six minutes, promoted Werder Bremen turned 0: 2 at Borussia Dortmund and won in the end 3: 2 (0: 1). The Hanseatic League even wrote Bundesliga history: because never before had a team from Germany’s top division ever scored three goals after the 89th minute. And BVB hadn’t lost at home after a 2-0 lead since the 1981/82 season (then a 2-3 win against another northern club, HSV).
What a race to catch up: Werder are the better team in the first half, but apart from a few half-hearted chances, Dortmund do little in front of goal. The same with the meager BVB, who then struck out of nowhere shortly before the break in the figure of Julian Brandt to make it 1-0. The 81,000 spectators cheer, Bremen sneaks into the dressing room.
But in the second 45 minutes, the promoted team didn’t give up even when Raphael Guerreiro (77th) scored what was supposed to be the final winning goal from behind. Instead, three jokers turn the game completely upside down – and ensure an unprecedented show in the Bundesliga. First it’s the Englishman Lee Buchanan, who hits the ball beautifully with the outside of his foot in the 89th. A consolation goal for the bravely fighting Bremen team, thinks almost everyone in the Dortmund stands and on the television screens.
Then, in the 93rd minute, midfielder Niklas Schmidt, a change candidate for the Hanseatic League, rammed a header into the right corner of the goal – and into the hearts of the BVB players and fans. But that’s not all. Oliver Burke’s hour has come again. As in the late 2-2 win against Stuttgart last matchday, the striker should have the last word in Dortmund. From the right corner of the penalty area, he slams the ball into the goal net – the entry in the Bundesliga history book is perfect.
“You always believe in it until the referee blows the whistle,” said Schmidt happily on NDR radio after the game. “We played very bravely and didn’t really give Dortmund any chances. We never gave up.” According to the scorer, the Bremen team can keep up with every team in the Bundesliga.
“It was obvious to Olli that he had a good week of training and that goal certainly helped him,” Ole Werner said of Burke on Thursday. Even Werder’s head coach could not have dreamed that Dortmund would lead to such an unforgettable race to catch up and set a historic record.
