Dortmund vs Werder Bremen, Füllkrug and Sabitzer decide it

Niclas Füllkrug came on in the 59th minute, scored in the 65th and 68th, and still ended up as the night’s most disruptive figure. He finished with 2 goals from 2 shots on target in 31 minutes, and a match rating of 8.2. Marcel Sabitzer then settled Borussia Dortmund's cup tie in the 90.+3 minute.

Füllkrug's 31-minute burst

The scale of it is the point. Füllkrug’s cameo was so short and so productive that Dortmund spent the last stretch chasing a match he had nearly turned for Werder Bremen. The live reaction from SPORT1 captured that swing after he made up a 0-2 deficit against his former club.

It also lined up with the way the game had started. Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka had put Dortmund 2-0 up in the first half, but Füllkrug’s quick double dragged it back to 2-2 before Sabitzer’s late free-kick finished it.

Dortmund's escape in stoppage time

Sportingly, this was the sort of cup tie Dortmund could have made far easier for themselves. Niko Kovač will take the result, because the 3-2 win ended a cup drought against Werder Bremen that dated back to 2008, but the match was messy enough to leave a few lessons behind.

The balance of the night still favoured the players who opened and closed the scoring. Guirassy set the tone with the first goal, Chukwuemeka added the second, and Sabitzer’s 90.+3 winner rescued the tie after Füllkrug had threatened to wreck it. Dortmund will play on Saturday (18.30) at the level points record champions in Munich.