Former Chelsea striker, Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to score a stoppage time winner as Borussia Dortmund snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory over top six rivals Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Danny Blum looked to have sealed a draw for Frankfurt with an equaliser a minute into time added on, but Batshuayi had the last word with his second goal two minutes later.
The win kept Dortmund in third place, while in Sunday’s other game RB Leipzig were held to a 0-0 draw at Stuttgart that prevented them from breaking into the top four. Dortmund came close on 10 minutes when Andre Schuerrle nodded Christian Pulisic’s cross just wide of the far post.
Pulisic was involved again when Dortmund took the lead two minutes later. His chipped cross was meant for Marco Reus, but was turned in by Frankfurt defender Marco Russ. Kevin-Prince Boateng nearly scored with a clever backheel just after half-time, but was denied by Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki.
Resurgent in the second half, Frankfurt finally found an equaliser on 75 minutes. Jonathan De Guzman’s curling free-kick found Luka Jovic, who sent a powerful header past Burki. Dortmund hit back just two minutes later, Batshuayi linking up neatly with Pulisic before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
As normal time came to an end, Blum stole in at the far post to snatch what appeared to be a late equaliser. Batshuayi, though, found space in the penalty area to rifle in a dramatic winner. Defeat saw Frankfurt drop to fifth, two points ahead of Leipzig. Timo Werner was booed on his return to his home-town club but couldn’t ram the jeers back down the throats of the home fans. Werner, who came through the ranks at Stuttgart before joining Leipzig in 2016, had not scored in six league games ahead of this one, but still enjoyed the experience.
“It was nice to be back here in my old home,” Werner told Sky after the game. “We deserved to score one or two goals today, but we are happy to take the point.” In a first half characterised by fierce tackling, heated arguments and compact defending, neither side managed to threaten.
The best chance fell to Leipzig just before half-time, Werner breaking free of the defence but failing to lob Ron-Robert Zieler in the Stuttgart goal. Both Mario Gomez and Daniel Ginczek headed wide for Stuttgart in the last 10 minutes, while Naby Keita and Willi Orban missed chances at the other end. The draw extends Leipzig’s winless run to four league games, and leaves them four points behind the Champions League spots.
AFP
