Ten-man Borussia Dortmund secured a 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang provided the equalizer at the opener of the 15th round of Bundesliga on Friday.
Hoffenheim were unable to defend their lead twice against 10-man Dortmund, who bounced back twice thanks to the goals from Mario Gotze and Aubameyang.
The hosts grabbed a bright start into the fast-paced encounter as Mark Uth capitalized on a long ball from Benjamin Huebner to round Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller only two minutes into the game.
Dortmund remained unimpressed by the early setback and responded in the 11th minute through Mario Gotze, who slotted home Ousmane Dembele’s square pass at the edge of the box.
Hoffenheim had the chance to ensure the lead again but Kerem Demirbay was unable to overcome goalkeeper Weidenfeller. However, Sandro Wagner cut a better figure in front of Borussia Dortmund’s goal as the striker headed home an effort on target to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards on 20 minutes.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors before the break, as Marco Reus received his marching order after booking his second yellow card in the 41st minute.
The second half saw Dortmund recover as top striker Aubameyang benefited on a through ball from Ousmane Dembele to level the scores from inside the box in the 48th minute.
However, Aubameyang missed the target from promising position moments later. Hoffenheim increased their efforts in the closing period but neither Jeremy Toljan nor Andrej Kramaric were able to beat custodian Roman Weidenfeller for the decider.
With the draw, Hoffenheim moved from the fourth to third place, while Borussia Dortmund climbed from the sixth to the fifth spot.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Schalke host Freiburg, Mainz see Hamburg, Augsburg face Monchengladbach, Bremen encounter Cologne, runners-up Leipzig clash with third placed Berlin and Wolfsburg take on Frankfurt.
