Borussia Dortmund were made to toil by a very determined Union Berlin side, but a last minute penalty from Marco Reus helped them earn a 3-2 win and secure a place in the third round of the DFB-Pokal.
Lucien Favre made several changes to his starting line-up, with a number of fringe players getting a chance to impress and stake a claim for regular first team football. Marwin Hitz, Omer Toprak, Julian Weigl, Shinji Kagawa, Marius Wolf and Maximilian Philipp were all brought into the side, while the likes of Roman Burki, Axel Witsel, Marco Reus and Jadon Sancho were given a deserved rest.
Borussia Dortmund started the game slowly as the players were lacking match rhythm and cohesion. Union Berlin showed their desire from the first whistle and forced debutant Marwin Hitz into making some very important saves in the first half.
The home side did not create too many chances in the opening 45 minutes but got the breakthrough five minutes before half time as Christian Pulisic pounced on the goalkeeper’s mistake after he spilled Shinji Kagawa’s header. It was an important goal for the Black and Yellows, who went into half time with momentum on their side.
Lucien Favre’s men started the second half on the front foot and created some good opportunities to extend their lead, with Raphael Guerreiro coming closest to scoring. But Dortmund failed to capitalize on their chances and were made to pay as Sebastian Polter made it 1-1 for Union Berlin in the 63rd minute, thanks to some poor defending by the hosts.
Dortmund started to push more and more men forward in search of a goal and took the lead just ten minutes later thanks to a stunning finish by Maximilian Philipp from a very tight angle. Dortmund brought on Marco Reus and Axel Witsel as they looked to steady the ship and make sure that they saw the game through. But it wasn’t to be as Sebastian Polter struck again to take the game into extra time.
Lucien Favre decided to bring on Jadon Sancho as Dortmund looked to find a winner in extra time. While the Black and Yellows dominated proceedings, Union Berlin were a constant threat on the counter.
And just when it looked like we would be going to penalties, Christian Pulisic was fouled in the box and the referee gave Borussia Dortmund a penalty and gave the offender a straight red card. Marco Reus stepped up and smashed the ball into the net to give his side the lead in the 120th minute and send the Westfalenstadion into raptures. Borussia Dortmund made it very tough for themselves and were pushed all the way by Union Berlin, but ultimately got the job done and are through to the next round.
Up next for Lucien Favre’s side is a trip to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday, where they will be hoping for a much better performance than we saw today.
