Dortmund come from two goals down to beat Hoffenheim 3-2 with a late own goal

Borussia Dortmund needed a proper comeback to keep their perfect start alive. TSG Hoffenheim led 2-0 with half an hour to go at the PreZero Arena, but Niko Kovač's side scored three times in 25 minutes to win 3-2 and stay top of the early Bundesliga table.

Leon Avdullahu put Hoffenheim ahead right on the stroke of half-time, finishing from a Vladimir Coufal assist with a strike that had only a 3% chance of going in by the numbers. Tim Lemperle doubled the lead nine minutes into the second half, teed up by Adam Daghim, and for a while the hosts looked in control.

Guirassy sparks the fightback

Serhou Guirassy pulled one back on 61 minutes, converting a Waldemar Anton assist, and five minutes later Fabio Silva made it 2-2 with Guirassy turning provider. The goal Dortmund needed came in the 86th minute: Nwaneri combined with Silva down the left, and his low cross was turned into his own net by Albian Hajdari, completing the turnaround at 2-3.

It was Kovač's 50th Bundesliga game in charge of Dortmund, and a fitting way to mark it — Guirassy finished with a goal and an assist to take the man-of-the-match award. The xG numbers were almost dead level, 1.15 to 1.14, reflecting a game that swung on moments rather than territory.

A habit forming for Guirassy

Serhou Guirassy has now had a direct hand in the winning move of both of Dortmund's opening matchdays. He scored the opener against Hamburger SV on 9 minutes, teed up by record signing Konstantinos Karetsas, in a game Dortmund controlled from start to finish. In Sinsheim he did it from both ends of the same fightback — pulling one back himself on 61 minutes, then squaring the ball for Fabio Silva to make it 2-2 five minutes later. Two very different matches, opened comfortably and won from behind, and the same forward involved in the goal that turned each one.

Hoffenheim's problem is turning into a pattern

Losing after leading is becoming a theme for Hoffenheim. On matchday 1 they were 2-1 up on Cologne with 20 minutes to go, before two goals in ten minutes from substitute Thijs Dallinga turned it into a 3-2 defeat at the RheinEnergieSTADION. A week later they led Dortmund 2-0 with half an hour left at their own PreZero Arena and still lost, 2-3. Two matchdays, two leads given up in the closing stages, and zero points to show for either result.

Match facts

• 45' — Leon Avdullahu (Hoffenheim), assisted by Vladimir Coufal
• 54' — Tim Lemperle (Hoffenheim), assisted by Adam Daghim
• 61' — Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund), assisted by Waldemar Anton
• 66' — Fabio Silva (Borussia Dortmund), assisted by Serhou Guirassy
• 86' — Albian Hajdari (Hoffenheim), own goal

Possession, shot counts and cards were not published for this fixture by our reference sources, so they are left out here rather than estimated.

What's next

The result puts Dortmund 3rd on the Bundesliga table with 6 points from two wins out of two, level on points with the leaders but behind on goal difference. That keeps them inside the Champions League zone, the top four of the 18-club division. Hoffenheim sit 16th with no points from their opening two games, in the relegation play-off spot, a tougher start than the table suggested at half-time in Sinsheim.

Both sides are straight back in action next weekend for matchday 3, with Hoffenheim needing a response and Dortmund looking to keep pace at the top of the Bundesliga.