BVB win at Hoffenheim and jump to first place. Niclas Füllkrug and Marco Reus score before the break, Ryerson puts the lid on it.

After 80 minutes Marco Reus trotted off the pitch for his substitution. The midfielder was exhausted, but above all he wanted to stall for time because of the narrow lead. The 34-year-old knows all the tricks in professional football, but what he knows even better is how to score important goals for Borussia Dortmund.

On Friday evening at TSG Hoffenheim, he managed to score another one. Reus’ goal to make it 2:1 (45.+3) secured BVB’s fourth win of the season in the sixth match in front of 30,150 spectators at the PreZero Arena. Julian Ryerson scored in injury time (90.+5) to make the final score 3:1 (2:1). Niclas Füllkrug initially gave BVB the lead (18th), Andrej Kramaric (25th) equalised with a penalty. For one night at least, Dortmund are now at the top of the Bundesliga table.

As in the 1-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg, Salih Özcan was allowed to straddle the defence. “He absolutely deserved the chance and made the most of it,” said coach Edin Terzic, explaining the 25-year-old’s renewed call-up. But there was one thing that could not be denied. The fact that Özcan was in the starting eleven for the second time in a row was synonymous with the fact that there was no place for captain Emre Can in the starting eleven for sporting reasons. The 29-year-old had to make do with the reserve bench.

Terzic made just one change from the dominant performance against Wolfsburg. Donyell Malen was rotated back into the team for Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. This meant that Marco Reus, who scored the winning goal against Wolfsburg, was also allowed to keep his place in front of new national coach Julian Nagelsmann.

From the start, BVB placed a high value on stability and secure passing. After Felix Nmecha, who was very present at the beginning, had won the ball, Malen appeared dangerously in the Hoffenheim penalty area for the first time, but failed to beat Oliver Baumann (15th).

Three minutes later, Hoffenheim’s defence let their goalkeeper down. Anthony Brooks’ throw-in jumped far too far away. Julian Brandt immediately passed on to Niclas Füllkrug. And the 30-year-old did not hesitate. With his right foot, he blasted the ball into the corner for 1:0. It was the first goal of the reigning Bundesliga top scorer in the black-yellow jersey (18th).

However, the lead did not last long. Mats Hummels played a sloppy pass to Özcan, which Anton Stach intercepted. Dortmund’s centre-back straddled the ball right on the penalty line and only hit Stach – penalty kick, a millimetre decision by referee Florian Badstübner. Andrej Kramaric outwitted BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and casually slid in the ball to make it 1-1 (25th).

Dortmund lost the thread after the quick equaliser. The pressing didn’t work so well anymore, Hoffenheim came to the penalty area relatively undisturbed. The second balls also ended up more and more with the hosts. But not at the decisive moment, which is why BVB surprisingly went into the dressing room with a lead, considering the course of the game. Baumann allowed a cross from Malen, who had previously held his own against two opponents, to bounce to the feet of Reus. The 34-year-old dusted off the ball to make it 2:1 (45.+3).

The second half began with fireworks in the visitors’ block and two moments of shock on the pitch. First, Kobel had to make an artistic save when he smashed Grischa Prömel’s header against his own foot from five metres (48th). And three minutes later, Kobel was lucky that Robert Skov’s free kick only hit the crossbar (51).

BVB now hardly managed to relieve the pressure. Dortmund managed the lead for a long time without shining, but in the end they were forced to shiver when Ramy Bensebaini, who had already been cautioned, poked the ball away before a throw-in for Hoffenheim (71). In injury time, Julian Ryerson completed a counterattack to make it 3:1 (90.+5).

BVB will climb in the table on this matchday, the direction is right after six matchdays. With another win next Saturday against Union Berlin (15.30/Sky), it can slowly settle in at the top.