Dortmund fight back to trim lead of COVID-hit Bayern

BERLIN — Jude Bellingham and Mahmoud Dahoud scored late goals as Borussia Dortmund came from behind to seal a dramatic 3-2 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday and cut COVID-hit Bayern Munich’s lead to six points at the top of the Bundesliga.

“We reacted well throughout the second half and got an awesome, emotional win,” said Dortmund defender Mats Hummels.

With nine players sidelined by COVID, a makeshift Bayern side lost 2-1 at home to Gladbach on Friday but second-placed Dortmund left it late in Frankfurt.

Eintracht raced into an early 2-0 lead with Colombia striker Rafael Borre scoring both goals before Dortmund pulled one back with 19 minutes left.

“The word ‘stability’ has to be at the top of our list if we want to have a chance of winning anything this season,” Hummels admitted, referring to the goals conceded.

Erling Haaland sparked Dortmund’s recovery by setting up Thorgan Hazard to halve the deficit. 

Bellingham levelled with four minutes left by heading past Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp before Dahoud curled in the winner from the edge of the area just before the final whistle.

“These victories have a special taste and we believed in it as a team — but we have to stop talking about Bayern,” said Emre Can, after Dortmund’s first win in Frankfurt since 2013.

Earlier, Togo striker Ihlas Bebou struck twice as Hoffenheim also fought back to claim a 3-1 home win against Augsburg to climb to third. 

Augsburg took an early lead through a header by Michael Gregoritsch before Bebou converted a pair of crosses to put Hoffenheim ahead, with defender David Raum bagging their third goal in stoppage time.

The win allowed Hoffenheim to leapfrog both Freiburg and Leverkusen, who drew at home to Arminia Bielefeld and Union Berlin respectively.

Freiburg squander lead

Freiburg threw away a two-goal lead at home as Bielefeld’s Japan midfielder Masaya Okugawa and substitute forward Bryan Lasme scored second-half goals to earn a 2-2 draw in Germany’s Black Forest.

Lasme’s equaliser three minutes from time was down to a mistake by Freiburg stand-in goalkeeper Benjamin Uphoff on his Bundesliga debut with first choice Mark Flekken sidelined by COVID.

Freiburg had been 2-0 up 20 seconds into the second half when South Korean midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong netted after Janik Haberer gave the hosts an early lead with a long-range shot.

In Leverkusen, Germany defender Jonathan Tah headed in a late equaliser for the hosts to rescue a 2-2 draw with Union Berlin.

Czech Republic striker Patrik Schick notched his 17th Bundesliga goal this season from a tight angle to give Leverkusen a first-half lead after a powerful run by teammate Moussa Diaby.

However, Union attacking midfielder Grischa Proemel scored twice before Tah headed in a Karim Bellarabi cross six minutes from time.

Portugal striker Andre Silva scored twice as hosts RB Leipzig routed 10-man Mainz 4-1 with Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai also getting on the scoresheet.

Visitors Mainz had defender Alexander Hack sent off after just 20 minutes for using his arm to block a Silva shot that was heading into the goal.

Hack trudged off and Silva converted the resulting penalty while Szoboszlai doubled Leipzig’s lead just after the break when the Hungarian midfielder fired home after Nkunku’s perfectly-timed pass.

South Korea’s Lee Jae-sung grabbed a goal back for Mainz, but just 62 seconds later Leipzig were 3-1 up when Szoboszlai returned the favour by setting up Nkunku before Silva grabbed his second.

The win saw Leipzig climb to eighth in the table while Greuther Fuerth remain bottom after a goalless draw at home to Stuttgart.