Dortmund were cruising when Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi scored either side of half-time but St Pauli hit back with goals by James Sands and Ricky-Jade Jones inside the space of 10 minutes. In the dying moments, VAR found a foul on Germany forward Maximilian Beier, bringing Dortmund captain Can to the spot.

The win helped Dortmund cut the gap to Bayern Munich to eight points, but the league leaders can restore their 11-point buffer with a win at RB Leipzig later on Saturday. With German chancellor and Dortmund fan Friedrich Merz watching from the home VIP box, the hosts overcame a poor first half when Brandt tapped in from close range just before the break.

Adeyemi created the opener and gave Dortmund a two-goal buffer in the 54th minute, converting a Fabio Silva assist. Sitting bottom of the table, St Pauli had won just once since September but fought back into the game when Sands and Jones scored midway through the second half to stun the hosts. Deep into stoppage time, Jones caught Beier on the edge of the penalty area, allowing Can to convert nervelessly from the spot.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim's Wouter Burger scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over flailing Bayer Leverkusen to climb to third in the table. Burger swung in an excellent free-kick after nine minutes to give the hosts the three points.

Relegation candidates last season, Hoffenheim are on track to qualify for Europe's top competition for just the second time in their history, having last done so under now-Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann in 2017/18. Leverkusen have now lost four of their past six, falling three points behind the Champions League placings.

Cologne beat Mainz 2-1 at home, Wolfsburg played out a 1-1 draw with Heidenheim and hosts Hamburg were held to a scoreless draw by Borussia Moenchengladbach.

R. Jade-Jones

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