RB Leipzig 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
Portuguese striker Fábio Silva came off the bench to score his first league goal in German football as Borussia Dortmund came from 2-0 down to earn a draw at RB Leipzig.
Dortmund trailed by two goals at the break but their second-half recovery means they kept their slender hopes of a title challenge alive, while solidifying their place in 2nd behind champions and runaway leaders Bayern Munich.
A first-half brace by Christoph Baumgartner put Dortmund in danger of just their second league defeat of the season, but a Romulo Cardoso own goal halved the deficit less than five minutes after the re-start. Silva, who was introduced as 72nd-minute substitute, claimed a stoppage-time equaliser with a controlled finish on his left foot following a neat move by the visitors.
Dortmund are now eight points behind Bayern at the summit, but the gap does not reflect the positive season Silva’s side are having. Dortmund’s record of 15 wins, 7 draws and 1 defeat from their 23 matches would typically see them in the thick of a title race, but Bayern’s imperious form has made the closing stages of the season feel a procession rather than a tussle for glory.
“It’s important, of course,” Silva told the club’s media regarding his goal. “But I think things always come naturally when you work hard, when you do everything good in training sessions. After that, sometimes things take time, sometimes it’s more quick. But the most important thing is to work for the team, to do what I’ve been doing, like assists, continue like that and then the goals come naturally like now.
“The guys are happy for me? Because they know I was looking forward to scoring my first Bundesliga goal. They see how I work every single time in training to be better, to try to help them.
“Before I was trying to score and the goal didn’t come, but it’s important to have good teammates, good staff and the fans as well to push me because when I didn’t score the fans kept pushing me, they were always there for me. So what I can do is continue and I think I will score many more goals and give more assists.”
Dortmund have a six-point advantage over 3rd place Hoffenheim in the current standings, but next week’s home match against Bayern offers what feels a final chance at a title push. Before then, Niko Kovač’s side head to Italy for the return leg of their Champions League play-off against Atalanta, with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Germany.
