Christian Pulisic scored in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim to give Borussia Dortmund a much-needed point.
Eleventh-placed Hoffenheim opened the scores with a 44th-minute goal by Brazilian forward Joelinton Cassio. Dortmund nearly conceded a second goal after half-time but was saved by VAR which ruled out the goal. In the 76th minute, defended Abdou Diallo was sent off, leaving the third-placed team to fight for a point with ten men.
Dortmund appeared rejuvenated after the whole debacle. They took control of possession and initiated a counter-attacking game. Forward Marcos Reus made a swift cross in the 84th minute, allowing Pulisic to rescue a point.
The 20-year-old American now has 2 goals in two games. He scored Dortmund’s Champions League win over Club Brugge on Tuesday. Pulisic was out with muscular problems for three weeks and only came back on Tuesday.
Veteran midfielder Mario Goetze and compatriot Julian Weigl were left out of Saturday’s squad as coach Lucien Favre tried fielded younger players. The new manager defended his decision prior to the match by calling it “purely a sporting one (decision).”
“That’s my decision and it’s purely a sporting one,” Favre had said.
Dortmund is now four points behind league leaders Bayern Munich who cruised past Schakle 2-0 in the same day to lead the Bundesliga with 12 points. Hertha Berlin sits second with 10 points.
