Borussia Dortmund 2 Hoffenheim 1: Pulisic late show extends perfect Stoger start

Christian Pulisic’s superb late goal maintained Peter Stoger’s fine start at Borussia Dortmund as they climbed to third in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 victory against Hoffenheim.

After a run of one win in 13 in all competitions, Dortmund triumphed 2-0 at Mainz in Stoger’s first game in charge and a second success followed here thanks to a late rally.

Julian Nagelsmann’s Hoffenheim – leading through Mark Uth’s first-half opener – had looked set for a deserved away win until Stefan Posch’s rash challenge allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to level from the spot.

Even then, it appeared Dortmund would extend a winless home run in the Bundesliga to five matches for the first time since 2006, with Hoffenheim pushing for a winner of their own.

Yet Pulisic brilliantly turned the game on its head with one minute of normal time remaining, beating goalkeeper Oliver Baumann with an outstanding touch before converting, and Aubameyang could and should have added a third in stoppage time as he missed an open goal.

The Dortmund supporters were left delighted, though, sending Nagelsmann home pointless following links with the hosts as Stoger’s end-of-season successor.

15 – Hoffenheim have lost 15 points this season after a lead, more than any other BL side. Unstable. #BVBTSG

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) December 16, 2017

Stoger’s side could drop two places on Sunday with Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig in action, but he has at least been able to have a much-needed impact before the mid-season break.