Borussia Dortmund have moved up to third in the Bundesliga following a topsy-turvy encounter in Mönchengladbach in which they produced an outstanding performance to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory.

The 54,014 spectators at a sold-out Borussia Park saw Marco Reus break the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 10th minute following a foul on Pulisic by Dahoud. Lars Stindl then capitalised on a misplaced pass from Mikel Merino, who had replaced the injured Nuri Sahin midway through the first half, to level the scores at 1-1 on the stroke of half-time, before a Marcel Schmelzer own goal on 48 minutes gave the Foals an undeserved lead. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench to restore parity with his 27th goal of the campaign just before the hour mark, then Raphael Guerreiro headed home to make it 3-2 to the visitors with three minutes to go.

The scenario:
With rivals Hoffenheim held to a 1-1 draw by 1. FC Köln earlier in the day, BVB went into this one knowing that a win would move them back up to third. "Perhaps that's a small additional motivation," said Thomas Tuchel before kick-off. The Black and Yellows had won all three of their previous duels with the Foals under Tuchel and had the better head-to-head record historically, with 32 victories and 29 defeats from their previous 89 meetings.

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Merino was brought on to replace the stricken Sahin in the 20th minute.

Personnel matters:
Borussia Dortmund were without defensive linchpin Sokratis, who was sidelined with muscular problems, for this away clash in Mönchengladbach. He was joined in the treatment room by Marc Bartra (arm and hand operation), André Schürrle (ankle), Mario Götze (metabolic disorder) and Sebastian Rode (muscular problems). Thomas Tuchel made five changes to the starting XI that was beaten 3-1 by Monaco in the Champions League in midweek, with Bender, captain Schmelzer, Castro, Dembélé and Pulisic coming in to replace Sokratis (muscular complaints), Piszczek, Weigl, Kagawa and Aubameyang (all bench). Gladbach, meanwhile, took to the field with the same side that was beaten 5-3 in Hoffenheim last time out.

Tactics:
Gladbach defended in a 4-3-3 system, switching to a 4-2-4 while in possession. The two attacking wingers Traore (right) and Hofmann (left) would then drift inwards and move level with Hahn, while Stindl – the second striker for the hosts – would drop back slightly. BVB lined up in a 3-4-3 formation in which Ginter, Bender and Schmelzer lined up as the back three, while Castro and Sahin – until he was forced off by injury – formed the central defensive midfield partnership. Durm, and in particular Guerreiro, operating on the wings, repeatedly looked to get forward and join Dembélé, Reus and Pulisic in attack. Without possession, Schmelzer, and sometimes Durm, dropped back into defence.

The match & analysis:
The Black and Yellows were the superior side in the first 45 minutes at the Borussia Park, recording more shots on goal (6-3), more possession (53 percent) and more chances (3-1), while winning 46 percent of the tackles. Given their dominance in the opening stages, the visitors very much deserved to go in front when Marco Reus opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the tenth minute after the referee adjudged Dahoud had committed a foul on Pulisic on the edge of the penalty area. Even TV replays were not conclusive in determining whether the infraction had in fact occurred in the box or not. Not that Reus cared, the Dortmund native slotting home his fifth goal in eight Bundesliga matches against his former employers.

Dortmund almost doubled the lead on 12 minutes when Dembélé was thwarted by Gladbach shot-stopper Sommer. They were then denied a blatant penalty when Strobl fouled Sahin with an outstretched leg on the edge of the box four minutes later. But rather than pointing to the spot, referee Wolfgang Stark inexplicably allowed play to continue. Nuri Sahin, meanwhile, had to be substituted off with a suspected ligament injury and was replaced by Merino (20).

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Dembelé set up the equaliser for Aubameyang.

Reus almost netted BVB's second goal of the evening on the 28-minute mark, only for his shot on the turn to be dealt with by a combination of Sommer and Strobl. Gladbach, meanwhile, offered nothing going forward until their first chance after 43 minutes. It came about from an error by Merino, whose misplaced pass 25 metres from his own penalty area went straight to Hahn. The forward laid in Stindl, who drilled into the far corner from inside the box to equalise. It was a goal from nothing for the hosts, and the first half ended with the score at 1-1.

BVB were again caught napping minutes after the interval when, following the hosts first corner of the evening, Schmelzer diverted Wendt's cross past Bürki and into his own net (48). As part of Castro's heel was still touching the line when Stindl laid the ball back to Wendt, the Dane was not deemed to be offside and the goal was allowed to stand. 

BVB bounce back after falling behind

The Black and Yellows, though, were unperturbed at having fallen behind and continued to dominate proceedings. Aubameyang, who had replaced Reus in the 57th minute, scored the equaliser two minutes after coming on with just his second touch of the ball. Dembélé was the provider, threading the ball through to the Gabon international, who sidestepped Sommer and slotted home his 27th goal of the campaign from a narrow angle to level the score at 2-2. Pulisic almost made it 3-2 from Dembélé's cross minutes later, but the American failed to get sufficient contact on the ball and his shot was straight at Sommer.

Gladbach, by now winning more of the tackles, started to threaten the Dortmund goal for the first time in the final quarter of an hour, but Bürki made a save to deny Hermann. At the other end, BVB had the best chance to win the game when Guerreiro's shot hit the inside of the post. The Portuguese made up for it four minutes later, however, heading home a Castro free-kick from a centre-left position to make it 3-2.

Prospects:
BVB are hoping to beat Bayern in Wednesday's DFB Cup semi-final and book their place in the Berlin showpiece. Kick-off at the Allianz Arena will be at 20:45 CET. The Black and Yellows are next in Bundesliga action next Saturday (15:30 CET), when they welcome 1. FC Köln to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK.

Teams & goals