Tuesday’s second round of the German Cup had a bit of everything, and Borussia Dortmund supplied the drama. Goals from Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka put the hosts 2-0 up against Werder Bremen inside 17 minutes, a lead that should have been comfortable.
It was not. Bremen sent on Niclas Füllkrug around the hour mark and the former Dortmund striker struck twice in four minutes, the first from the penalty spot, to level the tie, just as Werder had come back from 2-0 down in a league meeting a fortnight ago. Then, three minutes into added time, Marcel Sabitzer bent a free kick home. Dortmund had lost their previous three cup ties against Bremen and had not beaten them in the competition since January 2008. Their next task is a league trip to Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Cologne enjoyed a far calmer evening, thrashing Bundesliga rivals Union Berlin 5-0 in front of 49,000 supporters. Saïd El Mala starred with two goals and set up Linton Maina, while Isak Johannesson and Sebastian Sebulonsen added late strikes, easing the pressure on coach René Wagner after a run of blank league outings.
Elsewhere, second-division strugglers Darmstadt knocked out top-flight newcomers Elversberg 2-0 despite trailing 14-1 on shots at the break, Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Karlsruhe 2-0 while playing a man down for some 50 minutes, and Augsburg won 4-2 at third-tier Grossaspach.
The oddest story came from Essen, where vandals had filled an entrance to the away section with concrete before RB Leipzig’s visit. Leipzig came from behind thanks to two late goals by substitute Christoph Baumgartner.
