Axel Witsel (Front) of Dortmund vies with Ellyes Skhiri of Cologne during the Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Cologne in Cologne, Germany, Aug. 23, 2019. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund reaped their second straight win, coming from behind to beat newly promoted Cologne 3-1 on the road at the opener of the second round in Bundesliga on Friday.
Lucien Favre made two second-half substitutions and gave his side an impulse as substitute Achraf Hakimi headed home the 2-1 before Paco Alcacer completed a fast break to seal the deal in the dying minutes of the game
Cologne started highly motivated into the game and came to their first chance of the game in the 18th minute when German international Jonas Hector pulled wide from the edge of the box.
Meanwhile, Dortmund staged a slow started and had to wait until the 23rd minute before Marco Reus got the first shot on target for his side following a free kick.
The hosts continued offensively minded and their efforts got rewarded after Dominick Drexler nodded home Ellyes Skhiri's corner at the far post to break the deadlock with 29 minutes played.
After the restart, Cologne started where they left off as Anthony Modeste missed the target from promising position in the 49th minute.
Modeste remained in the thick of things as Cologne thought they had doubled their advantage but the striker poked home a rebound from an offside position in the 62nd minute.
Until then, Dortmund were unable to implement their style of play but head coach Lucien Favre reacted and fielded Achraf Hakimi and Julian Brandt at the hour mark.
The two substitutions gave the "BVB" an impetus as they increased the pressure and were able to press Cologne into the defense.
Dortmund's power-play eventually paid off in the 70th minute when Lucien Favre's men surprise the hosts with a quick corner allowing Jadon Sancho to slot home left footed into the far post corner to restore parity.
The visitors gained momentum and continued on the front foot as Lukasz Piszczek cross into the box found Hakimi, who headed home at the second post to turn the tides with four minutes remaining to play.
Cologne kept it bowling and pressed frenetically for the equalizer but Dortmund had the last laugh and were not done with the scoring as Paco Alcacer finished off the build up work from Sancho to put the second straight victory beyond doubt in the dying seconds of the game.
"We staged a great performance even though we lost today. It is a pity that we were unable to secure at least one point," Cologne's head coach Achim Beierlorzer said.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: Fortuna Dusseldorf host Bayer Leverkusen, Mainz see newly promoted Union Berlin, newly promoted Paderborn encounter Freiburg, Hoffenheim clash with Werder Bremen and Schalke face Bayern Munich.
