Dortmund defeat puts Bayern on the brink of title
Andrej Kramaric's two penalties, including a 98th-minute winner, earned Hoffenheim a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund and pushed Bayern Munich closer to the Bundesliga title.
Kramaric kept his cool from 12 yards to open the scoring at PreZero Arena, only for Dortmund substitute Serhou Guirassy to net an equaliser in the 87th minute.
However, after Julian Ryerson handled the ball inside the area, Kramaric stepped up to strike the decisive blow, with Bayern knowing just a point against Stuttgart on Monday (AEST) will clinch a 35th top-flight crown.
Hoffenheim immediately piled on the pressure as Fisnik Asllani saw his shot cleared off the line by Niklas Sule after just 16 seconds, before Tim Lemperle's volley from Wouter Burger's cross bounced on to the crossbar.
The visitors continued to struggle in the opening stages, with Kramaric's first-time effort after Vladimir Coufal's clever pass brilliantly repelled by Gregor Kobel low to his right.
But Hoffenheim's pressure finally told in the 42nd minute when Kramaric saw his shot blocked by the hand of Sule inside the box as he fell awkwardly, with the referee giving the penalty after a video assistant referee (VAR) review, which Kramaric coolly dispatched.
Although its possession created few clear-cut chances after the break, Dortmund restored parity three minutes from time through Guirassy, who manoeuvred the ball on to his right foot before rifling a fierce shot into the bottom-left corner.
But there was yet to be one more twist in the tale. Alexander Prass's cross brushed the arm of Ryerson inside the penalty area, with a VAR review once again awarding a penalty, with the same result transpiring as Kramaric sent Kobel the wrong way to seal all three points.
A victory for Dortmund almost seemed inevitable given it had lost just one of its previous 11 meetings with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga coming into this clash, but it fell short when it mattered most to leave its title dreams in tatters.
