PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Werder Bremen - Niclas Füllkrug secures share of spoils in four-goal thriller

A comeback for the ages, Niclas Füllkrug’s dramatic stoppage time equaliser earned Werder Bremen a share of the spoils against an unbeaten Borussia Dortmund, who threw away a 2-0 lead Matchday 5’s curtain-raiser.

The big news before kick-off was the return of Nico Schlotterbeck, who was expected to be sidelined for several weeks after having to withdraw from the German national team due to an ankle injury, but the Dortmund defender returned to the starting XI sooner than expected.

As for Bremen, Daniel Thioune named the same team for the fourth consecutive Bundesliga game – the last time the Green-Whites named the same line-up as many times was in 2025 under Ole Werner, when they won four in a row between Matchday 27 and 30.

Happy to sit in a low defensive block, Bremen allowed Dortmund possession in the opening exchanges, deriving the host of chances, who struggled to break through Weder’s compact defence. It was then Thioune’s charges who had the better chances in the first period, first through Niclas Füllkrug, who headed wide in the 18th minute before sending Ludovit Reis through 10 minutes later – with options in the middle, the Dutchman fired agonisingly wide of Gregor Kobel’s post.

After the restart, former Arsenal stopper Karl Hein was at full stretch to deny Ethan Nwaneri’s deflected effort before the latter dragged his just just wide minutes later. Then, against the run of play in the second half, Waldemar Anton misjudged Hein’s long ball, which found Füllkrug but Kobel was alert to the situation to deny the former Dortmund striker with a leg.

Hein then, again, reacted brilliantly to deny Nwaneri, who almost opened his Dortmund account, before the Englishman scored a bicycle kick, but it was ruled out for an Anton foul in the build up – the youngster’s final action of the match.

Persistence then paid off for Dortmund, who took an 80th-minute lead through Daniel Svensson, who struck in his 50th Bundesliga game for Die Schwarzgelben. The Swede tapped home in front of the Yellow Wall after Fabio Silva’s mis-hit, before Schlotterbeck doubled his team’s tally five minutes later.

Not wanting to go down without a fight, Reis silenced the Signal Iduna Park with a strike from distance in the 88th minute. Showing extreme determination, Bremen’s equaliser arrived via former Dortmund striker Füllkrug, whose thumping header nestled into the net to bring an end to BVB’s perfect start.

Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Werder Bremen Player Ratings

Borussia Dortmund: Kobel (6) – Gadou (7), Anton (5), Schlotterbeck (7) – Sabitzer (6), Bellingham (5), Nmecha (5), Svensson (4) – Nwaneri (6), Beier (3) – Guirassy (3)