Gio Reyna got his first start for Borussia Dortmund, but he would only be on the field for only the first half as the team was able to salvage a point against Eintracht Frankfurt in a six-goal thriller.
Eintracht Frankfurt 3-3 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund saw its five-game winning streak snapped as they needed a late goal to save a point against Eintracht Frankfurt at Deutsche Bank Park.
Gio Reyna earned his first start of the season for BVB, but only played 45 minutes as he completed 76 percent of his passes, won four duels, and made one tackle along with a key pass as the team behind in the race for the Bundesliga title.
Things did not start well for the visitors as they conceded a penalty within the first eight minutes of the contest. Marius Wolf was the guilty party as the video assistant referee spotted the handball in the 18-yard box. Omar Marmoush stepped up to convert the spot-kick.
The Egyptian international put Dortmund in a deeper hole in the 24th minute when the hosts hit them on the counterattack. BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel would stop two attempts from Aurelio Buta, but the second shot would see the ball fall at the feet of Marmoush as he struck from close range.
Dortmund was able to cut the deficit in first-half stoppage time when Wolf sent the ball into the box for Niclas Fullkrug. The forward then teed up Marcel Sabitzer to fire the ball into the back of the from the top of the area.
Head coach Edin Terzic decided to make some adjustments to his team before the start of the second half and decided to pull Reyna and Donyell Malen out for other attacking options.
Dortmund came close to conceding a third goal just seconds into the restart, but they ended up leveling the score in the 55th minute through Youssoufa Moukoko. Wolf’s cross into the box was poorly cleared by the Frankfurt backline as the ball came to the 18-year-old to slam home.
However, the hosts restored their lead in the 68th minute when Ellyes Skhiri played a through ball to Fares Chaibi who fired past Kobel.
Dortmund would have the last word in the game as Julian Brandt scored to level the game again in the 82nd minute. Karim Adeyemi flew down the left side to send a cross into the box that the German midfielder steered home.
BVB sits in fourth place in the standings with 21 points, four behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Stuttgart 2-3 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim hit Stuttgart early and did enough to hold on for the win at the MHP Arena and take all three points.
John Brooks started for Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side as he went the distance, completing 68 percent of his passes, winning three duels, and making two tackles.
The visitors struck just four minutes into the game when they went on the counter. Wout Weghorst played the ball into space for Maximilian Beier who was in a foot race with two Stuttgart defenders. The German forward’s shot was stopped by goalkeeper Alexander Nubel, but the loose ball rolled into the path of Grischa Promel to slot home.
Weghorst doubled Hoffenheim’s lead in the 21st minute with a spot-kick after the video assistant referee determined that Beier was brought down in the box.
The second half would see the hosts cut the deficit in the 61st minute when Chris Fuhrich completed a one-two play with Deniz Undav to get his team back in the game.
However, Hoffenheim restored their two-goal lead five minutes later when Robert Skov fired the ball into the back of the net from the left side of the box.
Undav would make things interesting when he scored in the 73rd minute to give Stuttgart a glimmer of hope for an equalizer, but the Blues held firm to get another win away from home.
Hoffenheim sits in sixth place in the standings with 18 points.
Notes
Around the Bundesliga, Kevin Paredes got a rare start for Wolfsburg as he played 74 minutes in their 3-2 defeat to Augsburg.
Brenden Aaronson played 60 minutes for still-struggling Union Berlin in a 2-0 loss to Werder Bremen.
Both Joe Scally and Jordan Pefok started for Borussia Monchengladbach while Lennard Maloney played 85 minutes for Heidenheim as the Foals came away 2-1 winners.
In the 2. Bundesliga, Julian Green was on the scoresheet for Greuther Furth and Maximilian Dietz came off the bench as they thrashed Osnabruck in a 4-0 win.
Terrence Boyd scored his first goal for Kaiserslautern after a long drought, but they couldn’t hold their lead as they shared the points with Hamburg in a 3-3 draw.
Johan Gomez played the entire second half for Eintracht Braunschweig in a heavy 4-1 loss to Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Down in the 3. Liga, Mael Corboz scored a goal for Verl in their big 4-0 win over Lubeck.
Isaiah Young played 88 minutes for Rot-Weiss Essen as they scored a stoppage-time goal for a 2-1 win over Santiago Casteneda and Duisburg.
Jalen Hawkins went 85 minutes as Waldhof Mannheim was blanked by Unterhaching in a 3-0 defeat.
Both Ryan Malone and Bryang Kayo started for Ingolstadt as they suffered a rough 4-0 loss to Arminia Bielefeld.
Joseph Richardson was on the bench for Sandhausen but saw no action as they held on for a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund II.
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