Marco Reus of Dortmund celebrates after scoring during a German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and SV Werder Bremen in Dortmund, Germany, Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund failed to defend their advantage against Werder Bremen at the sixth round in Bundesliga on Saturday.
The "BVB" dropped points for the second straight time as Lucien Favre's men were unable to defend their 2-1 lead against Werder Bremen, who hijacked one point on Marco Friedl's second-half equalizer.
Bremen had a fairy-tale start on the road and silenced the home side supporters with seven minutes played after Milot Rashica overcame Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki with a right-footed effort from nine meters.
It was a short-lived joy for the "Green-Whites" though, as Dortmund remained unfazed and responded straight away when Mario Gotze headed home Lukasz Piszczek's cross to the second post in the ninth minute.
Both sides traded attacks but as the match progressed, Dortmund gained the upper hand. The hosts' efforts paid off in the closing period of the first half as Marco Reus made it 2-1 on the scoreboards after nodding home Thorgan Hazard's chip into the box.
After the half time, Dortmund should have extended their lead but Bremen custodian Jiri Pavlenka was on guard to deny Mahmoud Dahoud. Burki denied at the other end of the pitch as Josh Sargent came to a chance from promising position.
However, Dortmund's goalkeeper was hapless moments later when Sargent flicked on a dead ball to the far post where Friedl headed home in the 56th minute.
The hosts responded with furious attacks but all their efforts in the closing period remained fruitless, as Bremen stood firm to record their first draw of the season.
"We played well and produced many chances. Nevertheless, we should have scored more goals," said Dortmund head coach Lucien Favre.
With the tie, Borussia Dortmund missed the chance to jump into the top three, instead they slumped to the seventh place while Werder Bremen stay on the 10th position of the standings.
The following fixtures conclude the sixth round in Bundesliga on Sunday: Fortuna Dusseldorf encounter in form Freiburg and Cologne host Hertha Berlin.
