Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick, but that was not enough as Borussia Dortmund were defeated 3-2 at home by Bochum in the Bundesliga.
After falling behind 2-0 after eight minutes, Haaland scored twice from the penalty spot, then added another with 28 minutes remaining.
Bochum, though, who had taken the lead through to Sebastian Polter and Gerrit Holtmann, rallied late to win.
Jurgen Locadia equalized before Milos Pantovic’s 85th-minute penalty.
Dortmund is still in second place with two games left, 12 points behind Bayern Munich and eight points ahead of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who have a game in hand.
With his hat-trick, Haaland now has 21 goals in 22 Bundesliga games this season, and 28 goals in 28 games across all competitions.
In a fantastic encounter at the Signal Iduna Park, Bochum won a stunning 3-4 victory over rivals Borussia Dortmund.
The first half of the derby was hectic, as Bochum got off to a flying start, scoring two goals in the first ten minutes.
After superb interaction from the Bochum attackers, Sebastian Polter headed in and Gerrit Holtmann’s curling long shot sailed into the top corner.
Dortmund came back with two penalties, both of which were converted by Erling Haaland after VAR showed handballs on both occasions.
In the second half, Haaland completed his hat-trick with a slightly lucky finish when a terrible touch hit his standing leg, fooling the goalkeeper and putting Dortmund ahead.
Another surprise was in store as replacement Jurgen Locadia superbly handled a cross, swiveled, and shot a beautiful equalizer into the net.
After Axel Witsel handled in the area, there was a third penalty of the game, this time to Bochum. Milos Pantovic stepped up and created ecstatic scenes. The team of Thomas Reis took a 3-4 lead and held on for the remaining five minutes. The hat trick by Haaland was insufficient.
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Bochum is mathematically safe as a result of the win. Dortmund has failed to secure a place in the second division.
Bochum Maintains Its Position
They won the 2. Bundesliga last season and have now been promoted to the Bundesliga for another season. Bochum has struggled away from home at times, having only picked up 11 points on the road before to this match and relying on their home form to keep them in the league.
Despite all odds, Bochum found a way to win today. They got off to a great start, but giving up two penalties was foolish and allowed the opposition back into the game. When Haaland scored his hat-trick, most people assumed there was no way back.
They showed spirit and grit to score two more goals, and they completely deserve to participate in the Bundesliga next season.
