Haaland goal rescues point for Dortmund, Leipzig beat Augsburg

A late equaliser from Erling Braut Haaland spared Borussia Dortmund’s blushes on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim.

Haaland’s 81st minute strike averted a fourth defeat in five Bundesliga games for crisis-hit Dortmund.

Yet interim coach Edin Terzic remains under pressure with his side three points adrift of the Champions League places in sixth.

England international Jadon Sancho gave Dortmund a perfect start, racing up the left-wing to score his fourth league goal this season on 24 minutes.

Yet the lead didn’t last long, as Munas Dabbur scuffed a shot past Marwin Hitz to level the scores just seven minutes later.

Ihlas Bebou bundled in Hoffenheim’s second just after half-time, the ball bouncing off the Togolese and back into the goal as Hitz tried to beat away a dangerous cross from the left wing.

Haaland had a goal ruled out for offside in the second half before pouncing on a misplaced pass to snatch a crucial late equaliser.

Fellow Champions League hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen also dropped points after they conceded two late goals to draw 2-2 with strugglers Mainz.

Lucas Alario tapped in a low Moussa Diaby cross to give Leverkusen the lead on 14 minutes, and Patrik Schick appeared to seal three points with a second on 84 minutes.

Yet second-from bottom Mainz were rewarded for a brave performance as late goals from Robert Glatzel and Kevin Stoeger saw them save a point and continue their recent return to form.

Elsewhere, Werder Bremen were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Freiburg while Sami Khedira helped rescue a 1-1 draw for Hertha Berlin against boyhood club Stuttgart.

Austrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic headed in his ninth goal of the season to give Stuttgart the lead at the end of a scrappy first half.

Yet Khedira, who joined Hertha from Juventus in January, came off the bench in the second-half and set up a late equaliser for 17-year-old Luca Netz and save the capital club from a fifth straight defeat.

Earlier, RB Leipzig tuned up for their Champions League clash against Liverpool with a 2-1 home Bundesliga win over Augsburg Friday amid reports defender Dayot Upamecano will join Bayern Munich next season.

According to magazine Kicker and daily Bild, Bayern will pay 43 million euros ($52 million) to activate the buy-out clause in the contract of Upamecano, an unused substitute against Augsburg.

Leipzig sports director Markus Kroesche insisted Upamecano was rested ahead of Tuesday’s first leg against Liverpool which was switched to Budapest due to Germany’s Covid-19 travel restrictions from the UK.

“I just concentrated on the game, I know that the player has a buy-out clause, but I had a Bundesliga match to worry about,” said Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann, who declined to confirm the Upamecano reports.

Both Liverpool and Chelsea were also reportedly targeting the France defender.

In sub-zero temperatures, Leipzig warmed up for Liverpool with goals by Dani Olmo and Christopher Nkunku giving them a 2-0 lead at half-time. After Nordi Mukiele was fouled in the area, Olmo had his first penalty attempt saved by Augsburg goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz.

However, VAR ordered the spot-kick retaken after Gikiewicz was judged to have stepped off his line and Olmo made no mistake with his second attempt.

Nkunku doubled the lead soon after when Yussuf Poulsen presented him with a simple tap-in just before half-time. Augsburg pulled a goal back when midfielder Daniel Caligiuri converted a penalty 13 minutes from the end.

Nkunku could have added a second goal when he hit the post late on.

“We did well, but it was too tense at the end. The goal we conceded annoyed me a bit,” added Nagelsmann, as Leipzig secured a third straight league win.

His second-placed side cut Bayern Munich’s lead at the top of the Bundesliga table to four points.

Bayern host Arminia Bielefeld on Monday having beaten Mexican side Tigres on Thursday in the Club World Cup final in Qatar.

Agence France-Presse