Werder Bremen 2-2 Dortmund: Report, Ratings & Reaction as BVB Self Destruct to End Faint Title Hopes

Borussia Dortmund have thrown away their chances of catching Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table, giving up a two-goal lead on the road to Werder Bremen to leave the Weser Stadion with just one point.

Christian Pulisic, starting just his second league match of the year, opened the scoring for the visitors after just six minutes in the Topspiel, running straight through the heart of Werder Bremen's defence before calmly finishing past Jiří Pavlenka.

Borussia Dortmund struggled to get some breathing space in the match but were handed a chance at goal when Pulisic was fouled just outside the penalty area.

Paco Alcácer stepped up for the free kick and just like he did against Augsburg earlier this season, the Spain international hit the ball over the wall and past Pavlenka to double Dortmund's lead heading into half-time.

It had appeared that Alcácer scored his second of the match just after the restart, but the Spaniard's goal was rightly ruled out for offside and the decision was upheld by the Video Assistant Referee in Cologne.

Werder Bremen were then gifted a goal thanks to a mistake from Roman Bürki, who let substitute Kevin Möhwald's long-range effort fly through his legs and into the back of the net.

And Florian Kohfeldt's side levelled the scoreline thanks to Claudio Pizarro's left-footed effort which had too much power on it for Bürki to keep out.

Neither side could find a winning goal in the last few minutes of the match, leaving both Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund forced to share a point which effectively ends both their aspirations for the rest of the season.

SV Werder Bremen

Player Ratings

Pavlenka (8), Freidl (5), Veljković (7), Langkamp (6), Augustinsson (6); Eggestein (6), Sahin (7), Klaassen (6); Rashica (8), Kruse (7), Osako (6).

Substitutes: Möhwald (8), Pizarro (8).

Borussia Dortmund

Key Talking Point

Hitting the self destruct button is hardly anything new for Borussia Dortmund, but even by their high standards, Saturday's draw against Werder Bremen was on another level completely.

They started the game brilliantly and had taken control of the game by the scruff of the neck, something which Bayern Munich failed to do in their two recent meetings with Bremen.

But within the blink of an eye, Borussia Dortmund found themselves on the back foot and that's where they stayed for the remainder of the match, giving away two cheap goals to hand Bayern Munich the league title on a silver platter.

Player Ratings

Bürki (4), Akanji (8), Weigl (5), Diallo (5), Guerreiro (6); Witsel (7), Delaney (7), Götze (6); Sancho (8), Pulisic (9*), Alcácer (8).

Subsitutes: Dahoud (6), Bruun Larsen (6), Philipp (N/A).

STAR MAN - Christian Pulisic

It was only the USMNT international's second start in the Bundesliga in 2019, but Pulisic wasted no time in marking his authority on the match with a flurry of runs which carved Werder Bremen open.

He opened the scoring with a clinical finish from the first shot of the match, and it was Pulisic's driving run which lead to the free-kick which Paco Alcácer dispatched just before half-time.

Pulisic's individual performance wasn't enough to stop Borussia Dortmund from hitting their much-beloved self destruct button, but it was a promising performance from the young forward ahead of his summer move to Chelsea.

Looking Ahead

Borussia Dortmund return to the Westfalenstadion for the final time this season when they host Fortuna Düsseldorf next week, while Werder Bremen take to the road where they'll face Europa League-chasing TSG Hoffenheim.