Hannover 96 have lost the lead in the 2nd Bundesliga. The Lower Saxony side had to settle for a 2-2 (2-2) draw at newly promoted Dynamo Dresden despite being outnumbered for a long time and slipped to third place.
Benedikt Pichler had put the visitors ahead after eleven minutes in front of 31,733 spectators. He converted a penalty. Virgil-Eugen Ghitä (35') equalized with an own goal and Nils Fröling (41') even gave Dresden the lead with his first Dynamo goal. However, Noel Aseko Nkili (43) equalized before the break. Vinko Sapina, one of Dresden's best players up to that point, was shown the red card in the 54th minute for a challenge on Enzo Leopold.
The charges of Hannover coach Christian Titz looked like frontrunners for a long time. They allowed Dynamo to carry out their attacks in a relaxed manner, repelled them and then launched constructive counter-attacks themselves. If the lead after the penalty was fortunate, the Lower Saxons deserved it later, as did the equalizer before the changeover. Dresden kept up with good counter-pressing and scored both of their goals through tireless fighting.
While Dynamo still had a good chance after the changeover through Niklas Hauptmann (53), it became a battle of attrition for the hosts after the red card. Hannover literally laid their opponents out like in an ice hockey powerplay, creating more and more chances but failing to capitalize on them.
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