A stunning recovery led by Niclas Füllkrug’s stoppage-time equaliser let Werder Bremen share the points with unbeaten Borussia Dortmund, who squandered a two-goal lead in the Matchday 5 curtain-raiser.

The biggest story before kick-off was Nico Schlotterbeck’s return. The Dortmund defender needed to leave the German national team because of an ankle injury and was likely to miss several weeks, yet he entered the starting XI sooner than expected.

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Daniel Thioune named the identical Werder Bremen team for the fourth consecutive Bundesliga match. The Green-Whites last named the same line-up that many times in 2025 under Ole Werner, a period when they won four consecutive games between Matchday 27 and 30.

Content with sitting in a low defensive block, Bremen handed Dortmund possession in the early exchanges. The hosts held a host of chances but struggled to break through Werder’s compact defence. Thioune’s charges actually created the better opportunities in the first period, starting with Niclas Füllkrug heading wide in the 18th minute, then sending Ludovit Reis through ten minutes later. The Dutchman had options in the middle but fired agonisingly wide of Gregor Kobel’s post.

After the restart, former Arsenal stopper Karl Hein was at full stretch to repel Ethan Nwaneri’s deflected shot, and the midfielder pulled another effort 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 reacted quickly to deny the former Dortmund striker with his leg.

Hein also reacted brilliantly to keep out Nwaneri, who nearly scored for Dortmund, before the Englishman netted a bicycle kick that an Anton foul in the build-up ruled out – the youngster’s final action of the match.

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Dortmund’s persistence paid off when they took the lead in the 80th minute through Daniel Svensson, who played in his 50th Bundesliga game for Die Schwarzgelben. The Swede tapped home in front of the Yellow Wall after Fabio Silva’s mishit, then Schlotterbeck doubled the tally five minutes later.

Refusing to go down without a fight, Reis hushed the Signal Iduna Park with a strike from distance in the 88th minute. Bremen’s equaliser came through former Dortmund striker Füllkrug, whose thumping header found the net and brought 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)

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Others: Silva (4), Karetsas (-), Veerman (-)

Werder Bremen: Hein (8) – Arthur (6), Pieper (-), Friedl (7), Deman (6) – Regeer (6), Reis (6) – Dinkci (4), Chuki (4), Grüll (4) – Füllkrug (6)

Others: Wójcik (5), Weiser (5), Stalmach (5), Erevbenagie (-), Schmetgens (-)