Berlin, Dec 18 (IANS) Borussia Dortmund squandered a two-goal lead and shared the spoils with pace setters RB Leipzig in a 3-3 thriller in the ongoing Bundesliga.
In a classic encounter on Tuesday evening, Dortmund gained the upper hand from the start and created promising chances through Mats Hummels and Jadon Sancho, who were thwarted by Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, reports Xinhua news agency.
Leipzig’s custodian was helpless moments later though as Julian Weigl pounced on a rebound and hammered home the opener from the edge of the box on 23 minutes.
The visitors were unable to gain a foothold into the match, but got their first shot on target on the half-hour mark when Yussuf Poulsen’s effort cleared the bar.
However, it was Dortmund who doubled their lead as Julian Brandt controlled a Sancho pass inside the box to round Dayot Upamecano before tapping home past Gulacsi in the 34th minute.
Leipzig fought back before half-time and twice forced Dortmund keeper Roman Burki into action as Poulsen and Timo Werner unleashed dangerous headers on target.
After the break, Leipzig halved the deficit with help from Burki, whose poor clearance allowed Werner to slot home into an open goal with just two minutes of the second half gone.
Julian Nagelsmann’s team thought they had restored parity in the 50th minute, but Marcel Halstenberg’s goal was flagged offside.
The visitors did level the scores just three minutes later, and again with an assist from a Dortmund player, as Brandt’s back pass was intercepted by Werner, who wrapped up his brace after rounding Burki to slot home into the empty net.
Werner’s goal was his 18th of the season and sees the German international move level with Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski.
Dortmund suddenly sparked into life and responded straight away, as Sancho made the shot out of Marco Reus’ square pass to recapture the lead in the 55th minute.
Leipzig refused to lie down, however, and substitute Schick ensured a share of the spoils to make it 3-3 in the 78th minute.
With the draw, Leipzig established a three-point lead atop the Bundesliga standings, while Dortmund stay at the third place.
–IANS
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