St.Pauli battle to six-goal stalemate with 10-man Dortmund | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund opened their 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign with a draw against a stubborn and well-drilled St.Pauli side who battled to the death. The atmosphere at the Millerntor-Stadion was always going to be special, but nobody could have forseen the masses of confetti that smothered the pitch as the game got underway.

St.Pauli easily could have opened the scoring on 17 minutes when Waldemar Anton mistimed his clearance. That allowed Hountondji in behind the BVB defence, but Gregor Kobel came to his side's rescue with a big left-footed save to prevent the shot. Minutes later, Serhou Guirassy tested Vasilj with a strike of his own from an acute angle.

The Bosnian shot-stopper was called upon again as Karim Adeyemi fed Pascal Groß whose effort was smothered. The midfield battle eventually subsided just past the half-hour as Dortmund took a 1-0 lead. Jobe Bellingham worked the ball back to Marcel Sabitzer whose cross was headed home by Guirassy.

There was a chance for Dortmund to double their advantage with the next significant attack as Adeyemi was taken down by Eric Smith in the box. Guirassy stepped up but Vasilj kept out the penalty with a fine save down to his right. St.Pauli had a spot-kick appeal of their own before the break, but Hountondji's contact with Svensson was minimal at best.

Niko Kovač made a double alteration at half-time as Jobe and Adeyemi made way for Felix Nmecha and Julian Brandt. The latter forced another save out of Vasilj, but St.Pauli found an equaliser inside 5 minutes of the restart as Danel Sinani's cross found Andreas Hountondji who headed home in style with a glancing effort.

Ticking past the hour, the game slumped back into a physical arm-wrestle of sorts. Aside from a Sinani snapshot into Kobel's grasp, there was little to discuss. Suddenly, BVB restored their lead on 67 minutes. A Couto freekick delivery proved to be the catalyst for some beautiful one-touch football between Nmecha and Svensson before Anton curled home.

Approaching the final 15 minutes in Hamburg, the visitors bagged a crucial third to give them a healthy two-goal cushion. Pascal Groß' simple long ball was beautifully controlled by the onside Brandt and dispatched past Vasilj in a flash. Kobel wasn't without work to do either as he made a fine double save on Sinani and Ceesay.

But the drama wasn't finished as a VAR review spotted Fillipo Mané pulling the Gambian striker back. A subsequent red card was shown and a penalty awarded which allowed St.Pauli to cut the gap back to a solitary goal through Sinani. Seconds later it was 3-3. A miracle strike from captain Eric Smith ripped through a crowded box and beyond Kobel to send the Millerntor into raptures.