Borussia Dortmund have reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup for the sixth successive year, securing a 3-2 penalty shootout victory over Hertha BSC after an action-packed encounter ended with the scores locked at 1-1 after 90 and 120 minutes.

The 80,000 fans at Signal Iduna Park watched on as Kalou fired the visitors into a deserved 27th minute lead. The capital club enjoyed the better of the chances in the first period but after the interval the Black and Yellows completely bossed the game, restoring parity through Reus in the 47th minute after Dembélé had hit the woodwork. Despite their superiority, the hosts were not clinical enough in front of goal with Dembélé missing the last chance of normal time on the 81-minute mark.

There were few incidents of note as the match headed into extra time, with both sides looking rather flat and taking few risks. Shortly before the final whistle Sokratis picked up an unnecessary booking, and then continued remonstrating after taking umbrage at referee Aytekin's decision. He was subsequently shown a second yellow and sent off (119).

The penalty shootout

0-0 - Lustenberger hits the woodwork
1-0 - Dembelé hits a right-footed effort down the middle
1-0 - Bürki saves spot-kick from Darida
1-0 - Jarstein denies Pulisic
1-1 - Esswein fortunate to beat Bürki
2-1 - Aubameyang dispatches coolly
2-2 - Allagui penalty spins in off Bürki's gloves
3-2 - Castro slots into bottom-right corner
3-2 - Kalou fires over

The scenario:
BVB were facing their second opponents from the capital in this season's DFB Cup run, having previously beaten Union Berlin in the Second Round. Hertha BSC, who currently occupy sixth place in the Bundesliga and trail Borussia by just one point, picked up a 1-1 draw at Signal Iduna Park earlier this term and have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last 19 league outings. Thomas Tuchel said before the match: "It's difficult to create chances against them; it's difficult to really turn on the tempo because they're capable of defending in an orderly, disciplined and patient manner."

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Guerreiro's long-range effort in the 66th minute was saved by Jarstein in the Hertha goal.

Personnel matters:
Coach Thomas Tuchel stuck with the same starting XI that claimed a 1-0 victory over Rasenballsport Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday – the first time he has named an unchanged side since joining the club. The 43-year-old only made one change to the substitutes' bench as well, replacing Mario Götze, who has been suffering with muscle problems, with Gonzalo Castro. The Black and Yellows were still without Sven Bender (torn lateral collateral ligament) and Nuri Sahin (fitness).

Hertha boss Pal Dardai made two changes to the team that beat Ingolstadt 1-0: Stark, who had been suspended against the Bavarians, and Skjelbred came in, as Lustenberger and Stocker both dropped to the bench.

Tactics:
BVB lined up in an attack-minded 3-1-4-2 formation, opting for the same XI and tactical approach they had employed to good effect against Leipzig. When the hosts had the ball, Guerreiro slotted in alongside Weigl and helped to orchestrate the play. Hertha took to the field in a 4-2-3-1 system in which Kalou (left), Ibisevic (centre) and Haraguchi (right) formed the first line of defence and sought to close down Dortmund's passing options. Borussia looked at their most dangerous when they played quickly and directly.

The match & analysis:
There's little point in having 71 percent possession if you hardly get a shot away. BVB dominated the first period in the some respects, having more of the ball, winning 55 percent of the tackles and completing 84 percent of their passes, but it was Hertha who came out on top where it mattered: while both sides created an equal number of chances, the capital club had more shots and got the only goal as the first half ended 1-0 to the visitors.

Ibisevic spurns two chances, Kalou nets

The men from Berlin had broken the deadlock through Salomon Kalou after 27 minutes, the Ivorian striker escaping from Piszczek and steering Niklas Stark's cross past Bürki from an unmarked position in the box to fire the visitors into a deserved lead. They had already squandered a clear-cut chance to open the scoring with just 09 minutes on the clock: Ibisevic was clean through on Bürki after dispossessing Sokratis, only for the Greek defender to recover and thwart the danger.

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Marco Reus equalises to make it 1-1 shortly after the break.

In the 26th minute the Bosnian again found himself unmarked, this time heading over the bar. Seconds earlier Bürki had made a strong save from a Brooks header following a corner. At the other end the Black and Yellows were restricted to two shots, as the visitors continued disrupt their build-up play. In the 15th minute Aubameyang spurned a chance after carrying the ball slightly too far, having been set up by Dembélé. A short while later another chance fell to the forward, whose shot from a centre-right position was cleared away for a corner by Hertha 'keeper Jarstein (16). Bartra then fired narrowly over in the 31st minute.

Borussia, who brought on Pulisic and Ginter for Schmelzer (knock) and Piszczek (back problem) at the interval, suddenly looked transformed as they made a frenetic start to the second period. The visitors could scarcely keep up with the tempo and were soon made to pay: Dembélé hit the post with a shot from the edge of the box but latched onto the rebound, drawing three opponents towards him before finding Pulisic, who in turn picked out the better-placed Reus to slot home (47).

Langkamp thwarts Reus

A shortly while later Langkamp managed to deflect Reus' attempt over the bar for a corner (50). In the space of three minutes, BVB had more shots on Hertha's goal than in the entire first 45 minutes...

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Erik Durm battles with Genki Haraguchi.

It was wave after wave of BVB attack by this point: Reus failed to pick out Pulisic with a cross from the left (55); then Aubameyang was denied by Jarstein following Reus' cross and was a split second too late in latching on to the rebound (57). Though the ball crossed the line, Jarstein already had a hand on the ball, so referee Deniz Aytekin disallowed it and instead awarded a free-kick.

The ten-minute spell that followed was somewhat quieter as BVB continued to boss the game (12:7 shots, 69% possession), while the Hertha players picked up six yellow cards. As the game moved into its final stages, Guerreiro hit an excellent effort from distance that was saved by Jarstein (66). The only chance of note thereafter was a shot by Dembélé, who fired the ball a metre wide of goal with nine minutes left on the clock.

BVB remain in the ascendancy in extra-time

Thomas Tuchel made his fourth change in the first half of extra time, bringing on Schürrle for Reus. By this point the intensity of the match appeared to have taken its toll on both teams, though the Black and Yellows continued to dominate, carving open two shooting opportunities while shutting Hertha out at the back. The hosts then had to make do without Dembélé for the last five minutes of the first period as the Frenchman received treatment for cramp, though he was able to continue after the break.

The second period was devoid of real moments of footballing quality too, the game characterised by misplaced passes. In the 119th minute Sokratis was booked, then sent off for gesturing towards the referee on several occasions. It was an unnecessary move by Aytekin, who was following the letter of the law to the extreme, but it was equally unnecessary from the Greek international. The whistle blew shortly afterwards and the game – similarly to the earlier clash with Union Berlin – headed into penalties.

Prospects:
Borussia are next up in the Bundesliga on Saturday when they travel away to Darmstadt 98, whom they beat 6-0 earlier this season, before leaving for Lisbon on Monday. Next Tuesday (20:45 CET), they will play Benfica in the UEFA Champions League.

Teams & goals