Ramy Bensebaini came off the bench to inspire Borussia Dortmund to a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory over Hamburg on Saturday.
Niko Kovac’s side fell behind after 19 minutes at Signal Iduna Park when Philip Otele tapped in from close range following William Mikelbrencis’ cross.
Nico Schlotterbeck then struck the bar 10 minutes before the break with a towering header as Dortmund pushed for a leveller.
But Hamburg doubled their lead shortly after as former Arsenal midfielders Fabio Vieira and Albert Sambi Lokonga combined, with the latter drilling a powerful effort into the roof of the net.
Dortmund looked to have been handed a lifeline on the stroke of half-time as Maximilian Beier was dragged down inside the box, but Felix Nmecha failed to make the most of it, sending his spot-kick wide of the target.
Kovac’s substitutions at the break, namely Bensebaini, proved the difference in the second half, though Dortmund’s comeback efforts did not begin until late on.
Beier was once again dragged down inside the box in the 70th minute, with the penalty confirmed after a VAR review, opening the door for Bensebaini to halve the deficit with a controlled penalty.
Serhou Guirassy then drew Dortmund level from close range during a frantic final 20 minutes, before Miro Muheim was penalised for handball inside the area eight minutes from time.
Bensebaini stepped up again, calmly dispatching his second penalty of the match into the bottom-right corner to complete Dortmund’s turnaround.
Had us in the first half. pic.twitter.com/NlI4gcIFXi
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) March 21, 2026
Data Debrief: Trailblazing Dortmund pick up another victory
Dortmund have now collected 61 points in the Bundesliga this season, having already surpassed last season’s total of 57 with seven games still to play.
Kovac’s side have also lost just two of their last 35 Bundesliga games (W25 D8), both defeats coming against Bayern Munich (1-2 in October 2025 and 2-3 in February).
Alongside Bayern (one loss), Dortmund are the only team in Europe’s top five leagues to have suffered a maximum of two league defeats during that period.
Dortmund also dominated the expected goals (xG) battle, finishing with 6.20 xG compared to Hamburg’s 1.47, with their three spot-kicks helping to add to that total.