Comeback kings Dortmund rescue 3-3 draw against Paderborn
BERLIN (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus scored a stoppage-time equaliser as they dragged themselves back from 3-0 down to rescue a 3-3 draw against promoted Paderborn on Friday but they still suffered a dent to their Bundesliga title hopes.
The visitors played a dream first half, with Streli Mamba scoring twice and Gerrit Holtman also on target as they outpaced the hosts and hit them on the breaks to leave Dortmund shell-shocked and the home fans jeering the team off at halftime.
To make matters worse, Dortmund's top striker Paco Alcacer, making a comeback from a heel injury, had to be taken off before halftime after suffering a knee injury that left him in tears.
Jadon Sancho pulled a goal back two minutes after the break as Dortmund shot out of the blocks to set a blistering pace.
But despite their dominance and a bagful of chances they did not score again until Axel Witsel headed a second in the 84th.
Reus rescued a point deep in added time to move Dortmund up to fifth on 20 points, five behind leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach, who travel to Union Berlin on Saturday when Bayern Munich, on 21, visit lowly Fortuna Duesseldorf.
While Dortmund's comeback showed their fighting spirit, the result did coach Lucien Favre no favours following their 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich on the previous matchday.
Dortmund visit Barcelona in the Champions League next week as they battle for a spot in the knockout stage.
The Swiss coach has been under mounting criticism with his team being the textbook example of inconsistency in recent weeks with just two wins in their last eight league matches.
"I have absolutely no explanation for the first half," Reus told reporters. "I have no idea what we produced there. It was shameful. We can never, never play like that. We cannot play like that at home, no matter who we play against."
"We came away tonight with more than just a black eye. We need to talk about that. The coach gives us a great game plan. It is up to us to perform on the pitch and we are not doing it at the moment," he added.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris)
