Sebastien Haller has finally made an emotional Borussia Dortmund debut after his treatment for a testicular tumor as his side beat Augsburg 4-3 at home to resume their Bundesliga campaign on a high.
Striker Haller was signed from Ajax in pre-season, shortly before his shock diagnosis in July.
Chemotherapy and two surgeries followed for the 28-year-old, who started on the bench before being introduced to huge cheers just after the hour.
The Ivory Coast international could not fashion a dream goal on Sunday though as his fellow substitutes made the difference.
The wild win lifted Dortmund back up to sixth in their first competitive game for two months because of the World Cup and Bundesliga mid-season break.
“The welcome I received was just unforgettable. Everyone enjoyed this moment. I hope this moment was something to take with the team,” Haller told DAZN.
“It was really noisy, it was crazy to be able to live that moment. I’ve got a few things to do to reach my full fitness. I’m just happy to be here and to be able to play.”
Jude Bellingham and Nico Schlotterbeck netted either side of Arne Maier’s strike for Augsburg, who leveled through Ermedin Demirovic in stoppage time at the end of a manic first half.
English winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens gave Dortmund the lead off the bench with a fine strike only for David Colina to soon hit back. But Giovanni Reyna grabbed the winner on 78 minutes with a clever finish.
Augsburg, who could easily have made it 4-4 given Dortmund’s familiar defensive frailties, slipped to fourth from the bottom.
Bayer Leverkusen won 3-2 at Borussia Monchengladbach in Sunday’s late game between mid-table underachievers.
Wingback Mitchel Bakker and forward Amine Adli set up the win in the first half before Nadiem Amiri added the decider and Lars Stindl a quickfire Gladbach double after the break.
On Friday, leaders Bayern Munich drew 1-1 at RB Leipzig and are now seven points ahead of old rivals Dortmund, sealing the traditional ‘winter championship’ in Germany.
Eintracht Frankfurt took over second on Saturday after a 3-0 win over bottom side Schalke and Freiburg’s surprise 6-0 loss at Wolfsburg.
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