Dortmund defeats Bremen in DFB-Pokal thriller
“Mit eine der bittersten Niederlage, die ich in meiner Karriere bisher erlebt habe. Tut schon weh,” Marco Friedl told the Sportschau microphone after Borussia Dortmund eliminated Werder Bremen from the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday night with a 3–2 victory at the Signal Iduna Park, as reported by sportschau.de. Marcel Sabitzer secured the win in the 93rd minute with a direct free kick, rescuing head coach Niko Kovac’s side after Niclas Füllkrug had scored twice for the visitors. The result sends Dortmund into the round of 16 just four days before their Bundesliga clash against FC Bayern München.
Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring in the 6th minute by converting a cross from Maximilian Beier, who had been sent down the left flank by Felix Nmecha after Julian Ryerson smartly dummied the ball. Carney Chukwuemeka doubled the lead in the 17th minute, firing home from close range after Joey Veerman picked out Jobe Bellingham with a precise cross, allowing Bellingham to head it down into the midfielder’s path. By the 17-minute mark, the home side had scored twice, leaving Werder konsterniert and trailing 2–0 at halftime.
Werder Bremen transformed their approach after the break, altering a six-match unbeaten run that n-tv.de noted had preceded the fixture. Head coach Daniel Thioune, who rested 33-year-old Füllkrug for nearly an hour alongside Mitchell Weiser and Ludovit Reis, watched his team inject significant energy into the second half. Just five minutes after the restart, Eren Dinkci broke through on a counterattack, though BVB captain Nico Schlotterbeck neutralized the danger with a sliding tackle into touch. Nmecha and Chukwuemeka missed chances to extend Dortmund’s lead to three before Füllkrug entered the match in the 59th minute.
The former Dortmund striker quickly turned the contest against his former club, echoing a recent 2–2 league draw where Werder similarly erased a two-goal deficit. In the 65th minute, referee Robert Schröder awarded a penalty after Ryerson brought down Mick Schmetgens inside the box, and Füllkrug converted to make it 2–1. Mitchell Weiser missed a chance to give Bremen the lead in the 76th minute, and Amos Pieper blocked a shot from Daniel Svensson in the 89th minute to seemingly secure extra time.
Sabitzer intervened in stoppage time, curling a direct free kick past Karl Hein in the 93rd minute to seal the 3–2 win. “Das wird für immer abgespeichert. Ich bin sehr glücklich heute,” Sabitzer told reporters regarding the late winner, adding that Kovac had encouraged him to take the shot. While Friedl lamented the result as one of the bitterest defeats of his career, Dortmund advanced to the next round with positive momentum. Borussia Dortmund will face Bayern München in the Bundesliga on Saturday at 18:30 local time, while Werder Bremen hosts TSG 1899 Hoffenheim earlier that afternoon at 15:30.
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