Schlotterbeck: Sabitzer's genius sent Dortmund through

Nico Schlotterbeck said Marcel Sabitzer's "genius" made the difference in Borussia Dortmund's hard-fought DFB-Pokal (German Cup) win over Werder Bremen.

At Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund let a two-goal lead slip in the second half but still came away 3-2 winners to book their place in the round of 16.

Dortmund took control through goals from Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka inside the first 17 minutes, while Maximilian Beier also had a goal ruled out.

Werder Bremen substitute Niclas Füllkrug, introduced in the second half, levelled the match within three minutes: after converting a penalty in the 65th minute, he struck again moments later with a fine finish to make it 2-2.

Sabitzer then stepped up in the third minute of stoppage time, curling a superb free kick into the top corner to leave goalkeeper Karl Hein helpless and win it for Dortmund. It was the Austrian midfielder's first direct free-kick goal at club level since September 2019, when he also scored against Werder Bremen for RB Leipzig.

Speaking after the match, Schlotterbeck stressed that his side should have put the game to bed much earlier:

"In the first half we had everything under control, and then Carney and Serhou had a huge chance to make it 3-0. After the penalty we were on the ropes, we were far too sloppy, tried too many long balls and lost most of the second balls. Werder Bremen deserved to make it 2-2. In the end, an evenly balanced game was decided by a touch of genius. For some reason, Sabitzer always takes responsibility for the big goals. Remember the Atletico game, and now this one. We're through, we'll play in the next round at the start of December and I'm excited about that."

Dortmund head coach Kovac, meanwhile, was unhappy with how the match unfolded: "To be honest, I didn't like how things got out of control after we went in 2-0 up at the break. We should have finished the game off in the first half. After the chance in the second half, we just needed to protect the lead, but we didn't manage it and the game descended into chaos. We left too many gaps; Bremen got through the middle with ease 4-5 times. Tactically we didn't do a good job, but we're happy because it ended well."