Story highlights
Borussia Dortmund up to second on goal difference after beating Werder Bremen
Ivan Perisic scores opening goal just before halftime but is sent off after the break
Bremen hit the crossbar before Patrick Owomoyela makes it 2-0 for visitors
Champions Dortmund close to within three points of leaders Bayern Munich
German champions Borussia Dortmund moved up to second in the Bundesliga table after winning 2-0 at Werder Bremen on Friday despite playing half the match with 10 men.
Winger Ivan Perisic scored the opening goal just before halftime but was sent off for a second booking straight after the interval.
Bremen were denied an equalizer when Lukas Schmitz’s deflected shot hit the underside of the crossbar in the 66th minute.
Patrick Owomoyela then sealed Dortmund’s third successive victory with 19 minutes to play as Bremen failed to clear a corner.
The win put Dortmund three points behind leaders Bayern Munich, who host Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
Bremen dropped from second to fourth on goal difference, also having 16 points along with Borussia Monchengladbach.
Perisic, a pre-season signing from Belgian club Bruges, showed his undoubted promise in the 42nd minute when he confused the Bremen defense with a stepover and then fired a left-foot shot into the roof of the net that goalkeeper Sebastian Mielitz will wonder how it beat him.
But the 22-year-old Croatia international blotted his night with a sliding challenge on Papastathopoulos Sokratis that left Dortmund needing to defend doggedly.
Striker Robert Lewandowski provided some respite with a run that forced the corner which allowed defender Owomoyela to beat calls for offside and stab home his first goal this season.
Kevin Grosskreutz could have made it 3-0 after rounding Mielitz, but the midfielder could not find the net from the wide angle.
