The opener arrived right on the stroke of half-time when Leon Avdullahu curled a superb, bending right-footed effort into the far corner to make it 1-0 in the 45th minute. Hoffenheim fully deserved their advantage after clearly dominating proceedings, and they tightened their grip on the match after the interval when Tim Lemperle doubled the lead to 2-0. That seemed decisive until Serhou Guirassy suddenly pulled one back with a delicate, clinical finish inside the box for 2-1.

The match turned on its head from that moment. Borussia Dortmund boast enough firepower to flip any contest in an instant. Introduced in the 62nd minute, Fabio Silva needed just four minutes to make his mark, dispatching his first chance in the 66th minute to pull his side level at 2-2. Having looked dead and buried shortly before, Dortmund were suddenly on the verge of victory — firing a clear warning to Hoffenheim and to Villarreal, who visit them on Tuesday in the Champions League.

The dramatic turnaround was completed in the 87th minute when a Hoffenheim own goal gifted Dortmund a 3-2 triumph. It was a victory far more flattering on the scoreboard than their performance warranted, leaving plenty of lingering questions despite taking maximum points.

Fábio Silva

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