Borussia Dortmund squander two-goal lead in Bundesliga opener against St. Pauli
Borussia Dortmund squandered a commanding two-goal lead and were forced to settle for a 3-3 draw against newly promoted St. Pauli in their Bundesliga debut on Saturday, after being reduced to 10 men late in the match.
Red card changes everything
The turning point came in the 85th minute when Italian defender Filippo Mané was shown a straight red card. Just one minute later, Luxembourg international Danel Sinani converted a penalty to cut the deficit, before Sweden’s Eric Smith completed the comeback in the 89th minute, sparking wild celebrations at the Millerntor-Stadion.
Dortmund looked in control
Earlier, Dortmund seemed poised for victory after Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring in the 34th minute, despite missing a penalty five minutes later. St. Pauli responded through Andréas Hountondji in the 50th minute, but goals from Waldemar Anton (67’) and Julian Brandt (74’) appeared to have put the visitors in full control at 3-1.
Missed opportunity for title hopefuls
The draw means Dortmund fail to join the six Bundesliga clubs that started the campaign with opening-round wins. It also highlights lingering defensive fragilities that plagued the team last season.
St. Pauli shine on Bundesliga return
For St. Pauli, who fielded Portuguese-French midfielder Mathias Pereira Lage, the result marks a statement performance on their Bundesliga return. Their resilience against one of the league’s top sides underlined their determination to fight for survival this season.
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