Anton fires BVB to last-second 3-2 victory in Sinsheim | OneFootball

A brief spell aside, BVB had the first period fully under control and deservedly took the lead in the 20th minute when Serhou Guirassy finished off a move involving Brandt and Svensson. The striker spurned the chance to increase the lead to 2-0 from the penalty spot 14 minutes later. Jamie Gittens wasted another major opportunity in the 54th minute. Instead, Adam Hlozek made it 1-1 in the 61st minute. Julian Brandt put the Black & Yellows back in front with a technically challenging strike from a tight angle with a quarter of an hour to go, only for Kaderabek to restore parity at 2-2 in stoppage time. But BVB hit back yet again and made it 3-2 via Anton in the fifth minute of added time.

The scenario:   Fifteenth versus seventh: Hoffenheim were unbeaten in four home games, while Dortmund had lost only one of their previous four Bundesliga away matches and had won each of their last four away games in Sinsheim.

Personnel matters:  In addition to Schlotterbeck (torn meniscus) and Sabitzer (back in training), Beier and Groß were ruled out by injuries sustained in the Gladbach match. They were replaced by Brandt and Can. In addition, Ryerson and Gittens came in for Couto and Adeyemi (both substitutes).

Tactics:  BVB stuck with a back three for this match, but opted for two strikers (Guirassy and Gittens) and a No. 10 (Brandt) on this occasion. Can played alongside Nmecha in central midfield in the 3-4-1-2 formation. The back three of Süle, Anton and Bensebaini remained unchanged. Hoffenheim – predominantly in a 3-4-1-2 themselves – switched between a back three, a back four and a back five in defence, mostly played long balls up to the attackers, closed down the spaces in defence and left little distance between the lines, while Borussia tried to build the play in a structured manner...

The match & analysis:...and registered 77%(!) possession in the opening quarter-hour as a result, but only posed a threat to the Hoffenheim goal to some extent. The most promising opportunity during the opening phase fell to Brandt, whose ninth-minute shot from the edge of the box lacked placement and power. But he showed his class as a provider shortly afterwards: Brandt played a wonderful chipped ball into the path of Svensson, who stormed towards the Hoffenheim goal in the inside left channel and then squared for Guirassy, who slotted into the bottom-left corner (20). The flag initially went up but VAR overturned the decision: no offside, the goal stood.

Following the lengthy VAR check, BVB almost increased their lead to 2-0. The Hoffenheim players, including goalkeeper Baumann, hindered each other in midfield, Guirassy reacted at lightning speed and the ball ultimately fell to Gittens, whose lob at the still empty net missed the target (24). The Black & Yellows kept up the pressure. Brandt fed the ball through in the centre-left channel towards Gittens, who tried to go past Östigaard in the penalty area but was caught on his foot. Referee Brand immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Can picked up the ball but then handed it over to Guirassy, whose penalty was kept out by Baumann (34).

The spurned spot-kick disrupted Dortmund's flow. Hoffenheim grew stronger and restored parity at 1-1 in the 40th minute. But provider Kaderabek was narrowly offside. It was only towards the end of the first period that BVB started to look lively again, initially squandering two highly promising counter-attacking opportunities before going close to making it 2-0. But Süle (44) and Gittens (45) were denied by Baumann, before Guirassy's bicycle kick went narrowly wide of the mark (45+1).

The second half was nine minutes old when the outstanding Brandt, who showed immense commitment and enthusiasm, set the next major chance in motion with a through-ball from his own half. Gittens bore down on goal in the centre-left channel and tried to nutmeg Baumann, but the Hoffenheim keeper made the save. The profligacy was punished. Hoffenheim levelled on the hour mark. Stach played the ball into the Dortmund box in a centre-left position, Hlozek controlled it well and fired into the top right corner on the turn for 1-1.

Dortmund's build-up play was too erratic in the period that followed. Hoffenheim were now more aggressive (Chaves was lucky that his foul on Anton did not lead to his dismissal, 64) and ensured the game was now evenly poised. But Geiger lost the ball to Özcan during build-up play, Svensson pushed high up and crossed towards the back post, where Brandt fired the ball into the bottom left corner on the volley from a tight angle (74). Adeyemi was denied by Baumann in the 84th minute. The game remained tense, though Borussia Dortmund were now the livelier team. But as the game entered stoppage time, Kaderabek rose unchallenged to head home a Jurasek cross for 2-2. That was not to be the final action, however: Guirassy played the ball into the path of Chukwuemeka, Baumann closed it down, Guirassy pounced upon the loose ball and touched it to the right to Anton, who fired home for 3-2 (90+5).

Outlook:With three matchdays remaining, BVB have home advantage on two occasions: against VfL Wolfsburg next Saturday (18:30 CEST) and against Holstein Kiel on the final day of the season two weeks later. In between those is an away game in Leverkusen.

Boris Rupert reporting from Sinsheim

Teams & goals

Bundesliga Matchday 31Saturday 26 April 2025, 15:30 CEST TSG HOFFENHEIM 2-3 (0-1) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann – Chaves, Östigaard, Akpoguma (Nsoki, 30) – Kaderabek, Stach, Geiger (Tohumcu, 77), Bülter (Jurasek, 71) – Kramaric – Touré, Hlozek (Tapalovic, 71)Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Süle (Reyna, 81), Anton, Bensebaini – Ryerson (Couto, 77), Can, Nmecha (Özcan, 67), Svensson – Brandt (Chukwuemeka, 81) – Guirassy, Gittens (Adeyemi, 67)Substitutes: Philipp, Hranac, Becker, Prass, Orban – Meyer, Duranville, Kabar Goals: 0-1 Guirassy (Svensson, 20), 1-1 Hlozek (Stach, 61), 1-2 Brandt (Svensson, 74), 2-2 Kaderabek (Jurasek, 90+1), 2-3 Anton (Guirassy, 90+5)Noteworthy incidents: Guirassy's penalty saved by Baumann (Östigaard's foul on Gittens)Corners: 2-5 (1-2 at half-time), chance ratio: 3-11 (1-5)Referee: Brand (Schwebheim), yellow cards: Chaves, Kaderabek, Nsoki, Stach – AntonAttendance: 30,150 (sold-out), weather: overcast, 15 degrees