Emre Can's last-gasp penalty saw Borussia Dortmund edge to a 3-2 victory over St. Pauli, keeping some pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

Niko Kovac's side seemed set to rue a missed chance after throwing away a two-goal lead, but Can's 95th-minute spot-kick moved them to within eight points of Bayern, who visit RB Leipzig later on Saturday.

St. Pauli thought they had a 19th-minute penalty of their own, only for the VAR to intervene and overturn an on-field call for handball against Dortmund striker Fabio Silva.

Gregor Kobel then smothered Mathias Pereira's close-range effort before Dortmund made their chance count at the other end.

Silva initially missed the ball from Karim Adeyemi's, but Julian Brandt was on hand for a simple tap-in to send the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time.

Adeyemi doubled Dortmund's lead early in the second half, steering Silva's selfless pass into an unguarded net, though the hosts soon fell apart.

James Sands outjumped Can to head home Eric Smith's corner in the 62nd minute, before St. Pauli's captain provided his second assist when he teed up substitute Ricky-Jade Jones to volley the Bundesliga's bottom club level 10 minutes later.

But Dortmund had the last laugh as Jones felled Maximilian Beier, with Can keeping his cool in the dying seconds to save Kovac's team.

Data Debrief: Dortmund scrape through

Dortmund headed into this clash with the most clean sheets in the competition this season (nine), but Kovac's side were left wanting at the back in the second half.

It seemed set to be more frustration for the home side, who accumulated a massive 3.09 expected goals (xG) to St. Pauli's meagre 0.54, before Can capitalised on Jones' last-minute error.

And while Kovac will be disappointed with the defensive performance, he may still find positives in Brandt, who has scored in four consecutive home matches for the first time in his Bundesliga career.