Sabitzer’s stoppage-time free kick sends Dortmund past Bremen

Marcel Sabitzer curled a free kick inside the near post in the third minute of stoppage time to give Borussia Dortmund a 3-2 win over Werder Bremen in the second round of the DFB Cup, ending a tie that had already swung from a two-goal Dortmund lead to a Bremen comeback inside four second-half minutes.

Dortmund led 2-0 inside 17 minutes through Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka. Niclas Füllkrug, left on the bench at kick-off, then scored twice in four minutes against his former club to make it 2-2, before Sabitzer — one of three substitutes sent on by Niko Kovač as extra time approached — settled the tie from around 25 yards.

Key facts

Dortmund’s fast start

Dortmund were ahead within six minutes. Maximilian Beier found Julian Ryerson, whose touch released Guirassy to sweep the ball home for 1-0. Guirassy then had a header from a corner ruled out for offside before the lead was doubled on 17 minutes, when Jobe Bellingham headed Joey Veerman’s cross into the path of Chukwuemeka, who finished into the far corner.

Bremen’s clearest chance of the first half fell to Cedric Itten, whose free header from ten yards was too central to trouble Gregor Kobel. Kovač had made four changes to the side that beat Eintracht Frankfurt, with Bensebaini unavailable through suspension.

Thioune’s quadruple change flips the tie

Daniel Thioune had rotated four players himself and began with Füllkrug in reserve. On the hour he made a quadruple change, sending the striker on, and the tie turned within nine minutes.

In the 65th minute Ryerson pulled back Mick Schmetgens in the penalty area and Füllkrug sent Kobel the wrong way from the spot. Three minutes later he ran onto Senne Lynen’s pass, drove through midfield and struck low into the far corner from distance to level at 2-2.

Sabitzer’s late answer

With extra time looming, Kovač responded with three substitutions, bringing on Sabitzer, Daniel Svensson and Ethan Nwaneri. The winning free kick came after Nmecha was fouled around 25 yards from goal in the third minute of stoppage time, and Sabitzer bent his effort inside the near post to book Dortmund’s place in the next round.

The goal capped a game that had followed a pattern both clubs know well. The second-round tie came after a 2-2 Bundesliga draw between the sides earlier in the season, a match in which Bremen overturned a two-goal deficit. The clubs had also met in the cup before, with Bremen winning 3-2 in the last 16 in February 2020.

Why it matters for Dortmund and Bremen

For Dortmund, the result keeps a cup campaign alive in a season where rotation is unavoidable. Kovač changed four starters before kick-off and then used his bench to decide the tie, with all three late introductions involved in the closing phase. The win also removes the risk of a second-round exit against a top-flight rival, the kind of early cup elimination that reshapes a club’s fixture list and squad planning for months.

For Bremen, the defeat is harder to read. Thioune’s bench call worked: Füllkrug changed the game within five minutes of coming on, scoring twice against the club he left. But the same decision leaves an open question about how Thioune manages the striker’s minutes in the Bundesliga, where Bremen cannot rely on a two-goal rescue every week.

The wider cup picture

Cup progression matters differently for the two clubs. Dortmund enter the next round with squad depth tested and a set-piece option in Sabitzer who has now produced in a knockout situation. Bremen exit at the first hurdle against top-flight opposition, having shown they can overturn a deficit but not hold a level scoreline for the remaining 20 minutes.

What is not yet confirmed

The source report does not name Dortmund’s next-round opponent, confirm the draw date or give attendance figures, and it does not state whether Füllkrug’s bench role was a rotation decision or a fitness measure. Those details need checking against the DFB’s own draw announcement and both clubs’ official team news before they are treated as established. Goal times, scorers and substitutions above follow the published match report.

Source: Bundesliga — https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/borussia-dortmund-3-2-werder-bremen-dfb-cup-match-report-39755