Borussia Dortmund extended their unbeaten Bundesliga head-to-head record against St. Pauli to 15 matches dating back to 1989 (W13, D2) after a dramatic 3-2 victory at Signal Iduna Park. The result mirrored the reverse fixture, with the visitors once again fighting back from two goals down to push Dortmund all the way.

As expected, Dortmund dominated possession from the outset, but St. Pauli refused to be overawed. Their resistance was evident as early as the 13th minute, when Hauke Wahl dramatically cleared Julian Brandt’s rebound off the line to deny the hosts the opening goal.

The visitors then thought they had stunned the home crowd moments later. Fabio Silva appeared to handle Martijn Kaars’ effort in the box, prompting referee Harm Osmers to point to the spot, only for VAR to intervene and overturn the decision.

Brandt continued to pull the strings as half-time approached. He won a free kick on the edge of the area after being fouled by James Sands and curled the resulting effort just wide. Dortmund were briefly threatened at the other end, though, as Gregor Kobel reacted sharply to turn aside Mathias Pereira Lage’s near-post effort.

Persistence finally paid off for the hosts on the stroke of half-time. Karim Adeyemi burst down the right flank and delivered a low cross that Brandt met unmarked, tapping home for his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season.

Dortmund looked set to build on their strongest halfway-season points total in seven years and, boasting a league-high six home clean sheets going into the weekend, appeared in full control. That sense was reinforced early in the second half when Waldemar Anton halted Kaars’ promising run before Dortmund doubled their lead shortly after.

Brandt was again central to the move, flicking the ball cleverly through St. Pauli’s static defence for Silva, who squared for Adeyemi to finish from close range—an early birthday gift for the forward on the eve of his 24th.

What followed, however, was anything but routine. St. Pauli struck back out of nowhere seven minutes later, as Eric Smith’s pinpoint corner was headed into the far corner by Sands, halving the deficit and ending Dortmund’s hopes of a fourth successive home clean sheet.

Nerves began to creep in for the hosts, perhaps influenced by memories of the 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture, and those fears were realised in the 72nd minute. Another Smith set piece caused problems, and this time Ricky-Jade Jones rose to head home the equaliser.

Yet St. Pauli’s joy was short-lived. Deep into stoppage time, Jones fouled Maximilian Beier inside the area, handing Dortmund a lifeline. Emre Can stepped up and maintained his flawless senior penalty record, driving his effort into the bottom-right corner to seal a dramatic late victory.

The win marked Dortmund’s 11th in 16 Bundesliga matches in which they have scored first, keeping them firmly on track in the league.