Borussia Dortmund share spoils with Paderborn in Bundesliga

Berlin: Borussia Dortmund fought back from three goals down to 3-3 draw with last-placed Paderborn at the opener of the 12th round in Bundesliga.

Marco Reus’ last-gasp 3-3 equalizer on Friday helped Dortmund to secure one point on home soil against courageous Paderborn, who was unable to hold the pace in the second half, reports Xinhua news agency.

Paderborn caught a perfect start on the road as Streli Mamba finished off a fast break after tapping home Kai Proger’s square pass into the box following a Dortmund corner in the fifth minute.

Dortmund was shocked and Paderborn grew in confidence as the game clock ticked.

The visitors kept their momentum and doubled their lead with 37 minutes played when Ben Zolinski lobbed the ball into the path of Mamba, who made no mistake to beat onrushing Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Buerki for his brace.

Things went from bad to worse before the break as underdogs Paderborn sent hosts Dortmund with a 3-0 deficit into the half time as Gerrit Holtmann shrugged off Dortmund’s Julian Weigl to slot home from inside the box in the 43rd minute.

After the restart, Dortmund turned up and pressed Paderborn into the defence. It took the hosts thus only two minutes into the second half to pull one back after Jadon Sancho made the most of Achraf Hakimi’s assist.

Dortmund continued on the front foot but had to wait until the 84th minute before Axel Witsel headed home Mats Hummels’ cross into the box to reduce the arrears to 3-2.

Paderborn was tired and unable to maintain possession while Dortmund pressed relentlessly for another goal. The “BVB” eventually restored parity in the dying minutes of the game after Sancho’s pinpoint cross found Reus, who nodded home from a very close range.

With the result, Dortmund climb forms the sixth to the fifth spot for the moment. Paderborn remains at the bottom of the 18th place. IANS

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