Borussia Dortmund will spend the night at the top of the Bundesliga table for the first time since the penultimate round of last season, winning 3-1 at Hoffenheim on Friday despite finishing with 10 men.
Dortmund took the lead early on thanks to Niclas Fuellkrug’s first goal for the club, but Dortmund conceded almost immediately, and Mats Hummels converted a clumsy penalty that allowed Andrej Kramaric to equalise from the spot.
Marco Reus scored with a spectacular, acrobatic effort to give Dortmund the lead in first-half stoppage time, the former captain’s third goal in three games.
As Dortmund withstood Hoffenheim’s waves of attacks, winger Ramy Bensebaini received two yellow cards in 4 minutes in the second half and was sent off.
Defender Julian Ryerson added the third goal with a counterattack in the fifth minute.
“It’s a vital win for us,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said, “but there’s room for improvement. “
“After the red card, it’s another game. We showed another side of ourselves, we showed that we were looking to protect victory.
Captain Gregor Kobel said the win “wasn’t as dominant as we wanted” but thanked his teammates for doing “those little things, which were maybe so spectacular” to secure the win.
Despite an unbeaten start to the league, Dortmund came into the game under pressure, and Terzic’s side failed to impress.
Hoffenheim defender John Brooks gave Dortmund the lead, allowing the ball to slide to Julian Brandt, who let the ball roll to Fuellkrug, the striker who scored.
With Dortmund comfortable and in control, it was up to him to invite the opposition into the game, with Hummels bringing down Anton Stach on the edge of the box.
After awarding a free kick, the referee pointed to the VAR review spot, before Kramaric sent Kobel the wrong way to score the score.
At the end of the first half, Dortmund regained the lead thanks to a brilliant individual shot, with Malen running down the right flank and relying on a cross for Reus to score.
Fearing a first defeat of the season, Hoffenheim came out of the blocks and looked sure to equalise early in the second half, Grischa Proemel forcing a desperate point-blank save from Kobel just before Robert Skov’s free-kick rattled the crossbar.
Disorganized but steadfast, Bensebaini defied his coach and received two yellow cards in four minutes (the moment of kicking the ball in frustration), reducing his team to ten men.
Terzic made all five of his adjustments as the clock ticked down and Ryerson celebrated his 100th Bundesliga game, scoring to send the visitors back to the bottom of the table.
On Saturday, German Cup winners RB Leipzig will host world champions Bayern in the circular match, and either of them will have a chance to overtake Dortmund with victory.