Borussia Dortmund faces Schalke 04 in a Bundesliga match at WWK ARENA in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on Saturday, February 20, 2021 (2/20/21).
Fans can watch the match with a subscription to ESPN+.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: Bundesliga
Who: Schalke 04 vs. Borussia Dortmund
When: Saturday, February 20, 2021
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Where: VELTINS-Arena
TV: N/A
Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling.
Live stream: ESPN+
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Borussia Dortmund’s poor form continued when it was held by visiting Hoffenheim to 2-2 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Erling Haaland’s 16th goal of the season salvaged the draw for Dortmund, but will do little to address questions of defensive frailties and charges of complacency among the home team.
“In the end it was closer to 3-2 to Hoffenheim than 3-2 to us,” Dortmund defender Mats Hummels said.
Dortmund has won only one of its last six league games and is dropping back in the race for the top four Champions League qualification places. The gap is likely to grow with Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach all playing on Sunday.
“We’re going to keep working hard,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzić said. “Our number of individual defensive mistakes is very high. It’s not easy to stay stable.”
Dortmund next faces a trip to Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The team has claimed only 14 from 30 possible points since Terzić took over from the fired Lucien Favre, and he was already under increasing pressure after three defeats from the previous four Bundesliga games.
Terzić raised eyebrows by dropping captain Marco Reus to the substitutes. The 17-year-old Jude Bellingham started in a bid for defensive stability.
Sporting director Michael Zorc would not be drawn before the game when asked if he agreed with Terzić's dropping of Reus, but it was clear from his general responses that the pressure was getting to him, too.
Andrej Kramaric scored four goals in Hoffenheim’s 4-0 win on its previous visit. Fortunately for Dortmund, the Croatian forward was injured. American Chris Richards also dropped out after picking up a knock in training.
Ihlas Bebou missed two good chances for Hoffenheim before Jadon Sancho beat the offside trap at the other end to open the scoring in the 24th minute.
Munas Dabbur equalized in the 31st. Stefan Posch produced a last-ditch tackle to deny Bellingham then Dabbur scored on the counterattack.
Dortmund’s shaky defense always looked susceptible, so it was no surprise when Bebou scored Hoffenheim’s second goal in the 51st. Goalkeeper Marwin Hitz punched the ball but only as far as Bebou’s forehead, from where it rebounded in.
Haaland had a goal ruled out for offside before he finally equalized in the 81st.
There was some pushing and shoving afterward as a Hoffenheim player was down injured when Haaland scored, but Bebou played on and Sebastian Rudy’s botched back pass gave Haaland his chance.
Saturday’s games all ended in draws.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)