Despite the game looking destined for a draw, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally broke FC Ingolstadt 04's resolve in the final 15 minutes to claim an important and hard-fought win. The win brings Borussia Dortmund to within five points of league leaders Bayern Munich.
An even opening half
Unsurprisingly, the game was vastly different to the 4-0 thumping BVB dealt out on matchday two. Ingolstadt looked like a Bundesliga side and were more than happy to try and disrupt Dortmund's play, something which was working well early on.
Adrian Ramos did, however, have an early chance to put the hosts into an early lead but failed to convert when faced with Ramazan Özcan. In contrast, Dario Lezcano looked lively and alert on his first Bundesliga start. The Paraguay international looked to have gave the visitors a surprise advantage when he latched onto Özcan's long-kick out, only for Lukasz Piszczek to make a crucial intervention.
That seemed to spark BVB back into life and both Ramos and Aubameyang had good opportunities to open the scoring before the break; neither could convert, though. Despite Dortmund having the better of the play at half-time, Ingolstadt were very much in the game.
Aubameyang shows his class in the end
It was very much an understated opening to the second 45, in which Thomas Tuchel realised change was required to get his side moving. Both Gonzalo Castro and Moritz Leitner were brought on for Shinji Kagawa and Julian Weigl, respectively.
While that slowly began to take effect, Mats Hummels was breathing a sigh of relief. The Dortmund captain was being harried by Lezcano and, in an attempt to play a pass, caught Roman Bürki off his line. Thankfully for Hummels, a foul was given for Lezcano's pressure.
BVB's dominance eventually pays off
Christian Pulišić came on for his Bundesliga debut, and the teen sensation was on the pitch to help his side secure all three points. Ingolstadt slowly began to drop deeper and deeper, inviting the hosts to grab that vital goal. Aubameyang did just that.
The Gabonese forward and African Football of the Year was on hand to head home Piszczek's cross. He was in an offside position, which left the visitors feeling rightly aggrieved, although it was a goal that had been coming.
To add insult to injury, Aubameyang was able to collect a pin-point pass from substitute Castro and apply an ice-cool finish into the bottom corner. The promoted side were devastated, but that only shows just how quickly they have matured. Tuchel's team continue to be the only realistic challengers to Bayern's title, with the Bavarians in action against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Sunday.