Brandt’s back sends Borussia Dortmund top of Bundesliga

Brandt scored in the 43rd minute after he was fouled wide on the left. Marco Reus swung in the resulting free kick and Brandt ducked under the ball at the near post, letting it bounce off his back and into the goal.

Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt scores the winner. | Photo Credit: HEIKO BECKER/REUTERS

A moment of improvisation from Julian Brandt earned Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win at struggling TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday, sending Edin Terzic’s side three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga standings.

Brandt scored in the 43rd minute after he was fouled wide on the left. Marco Reus swung in the resulting free kick and Brandt ducked under the ball at the near post, letting it bounce off his back and in past Oliver Baumann in the Hoffenheim goal.

Dortmund full-back Marius Wolf thought he had doubled the lead in the 56th minute when he powered an unstoppable shot past Baumann, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check for a foul on Hoffenheim’s Ihlas Bebou in the build-up.

Dortmund’s eighth league win in a row moved it on to 46 points, three ahead of both second-placed Bayern Munich and third-placed Union Berlin, who play each other on Sunday.

Struggling Hoffenheim, who brought in Pellegrino Matarazzo as manager earlier this month after sacking Andre Breitenreiter, is 16th in the table on 19 points, in the relegation play-off place, after its fifth league defeat in a row.