Bremen's dramatic comeback inflicts 'brutal' defeat on Dortmund

Berlin (AFP) – Werder Bremen fought back from two goals down in the 89th minute to claim a remarkable 3-2 victory at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, with Scottish forward Oliver Burke scoring the winner.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said his side did not deserve to win but should have held on to their late lead.

“We’re talking about a deserved defeat,” Terzic told AFP subsidiary SID.

“Still, it’s brutally frustrating when you’re 2-0 up until the 88th minute. We had to defend a lot and allowed many chances.

“Despite a weak performance, you have to win the game.”

Speaking after the game, visibly shaken Dortmund captain Marco Reus said he had “no idea how that could happen”.

Bremen coach Ole Werner was unable to explain his side’s miraculous comeback.

“The last minutes were pure emotion — it was madness. It can’t be explained rationally,” he said.

Burke, who also scored in the fifth minute of injury time to see Bremen pick up a point at home to Stuttgart last Saturday, repeated the feat by outrunning Dortmund debutant Niklas Suele to hammer a shot past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and give the visitors all three points.

With Dortmund nursing a comfortable 2-0 lead in the dying stages of the match, Bremen pulled one back through defender Lee Buchanan in the 89th minute, with the Englishman pouncing on a poor clearance.

Dortmund suddenly appeared rattled and conceded an equaliser just three minutes later as Niklas Schmidt netted.

Bremen-born Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt had scored the opener in first-half injury time.

Making his first start of the Bundesliga season, Brandt dribbled the ball in from the right wing to the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a curling shot into the bottom corner.

Portuguese wing-back Raphael Guerreiro scored in the 77th minute to give Dortmund what looked like a comfortable lead.

The loss ends Dortmund’s unbeaten start to the season and Terzic’s nine-match winning streak.

– Leverkusen’s woes continue –

Bayer Leverkusen’s nightmare start to the campaign continued with a 3-0 home loss to Hoffenheim.

Tipped as an outside chance for the title before the season, Leverkusen now sit bottom of the table after three losses, alongside a first-round elimination from the German Cup.

Freiburg’s strong start continued with a 1-0 win at local rivals Stuttgart.

Normally a provider, the visitors’ Vincenzo Grifo tapped the ball in from close range to put Freiburg ahead in the 11th minute.

An injury-time winner from South Korean midfielder Lee Jae-sung saw Mainz defeat Augsburg 2-1.

Promoted Schalke picked up a valuable point with a 0-0 draw at Wolfsburg, who remain winless under new coach Niko Kovac.

In Saturday’s late game, Timo Werner’s RB Leipzig travel to unbeaten Union Berlin.