Reus sends Dortmund top with late winner in Berlin
Dortmund’s win leaves them three points clear of defending champions Bayern Munich, who are now under pressure to bounce back from their Champions League exit to Liverpool by beating Mainz on Sunday.
Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou scored both of Hertha’s first-half goals with Thomas Delaney and then Dan-Axel Zagadou twice equalising for Dortmund.
Reus’ late strike at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium finally saw off Hertha, who had defender Jordan Torunarigha and substitute striker Vedad Ibisevic sent off in the final few minutes of a bad-tempered match.
Kalou capitalised on a mistake by Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki with just four minutes gone to give Hertha the lead.
Delaney equalised by charging through a huge gap in midfield and firing home, his 14th-minute shot deflecting off Hertha defender Karim Rekik.
Kalou restored Hertha’s lead by drilling home a penalty after a Julian Weigl handball 10 minutes from the break.
Dortmund drew level again when French centre-back Zagadou headed home a Jadon Sancho corner two minutes after the break.
With five minutes left, Torunarigha was sent off for a second yellow card after fouling Dortmund defender Achraf Hakimi, just before Delaney hit the crossbar.
With time running out and Dortmund growing desperate after wasting a string of chances, Sancho supplied the cross for Reus to convert to claim the three points.
In the dramatic closing moments, Kalou’s replacement Ibisevic was also dismissed for unsporting behaviour after throwing the ball in the face of the Dortmund goalkeeper.
– Schalke’s rotten run –
Earlier, Schalke’s miserable run was extended to six straight defeats after losing 1-0 at home to RB Leipzig in Huub Stevens’ first game back as head coach.
The Schalke legend has been hastily hurried back for his third stint in charge after predecessor Domenico Tedesco was fired on Thursday, two days after the Royal Blues’ 7-0 thrashing at Manchester City in the Champions League.
However even Stevens, who lifted the UEFA Cup as Schalke coach in 1997, could not arrest their dreadful run, which has seen them fail to win any of their last eight league games.
Timo Werner stabbed home Leipzig’s winner with 14 minutes gone in Gelsenkirchen after Yussuf Poulsen had rattled the crossbar.
The defeat saw Schalke drop to 15th in the table, leapfrogged by Augsburg who enjoyed a 3-1 comeback win at home to second-from-bottom Hanover.