BERLIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Dani Latza's late leveller secured Mainz a 1-1 draw against Dortmund, while Freiburg moved 2-1 past Berlin on goals from Janik Haberer and Nils Petersen in the closer of the 18th round of Bundesliga action on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund failed to climb into the top three as Mainz snatched a late 1-1 draw through Dani Latza on home soil.
The 'BVB' caught a fairy-tale start on the road as Marco Reus capitalized on Andre Schuerrle's diagonal through ball to beat Mainz goalkeeper Jonas Loessl from close range just three minutes into the encounter.
Mainz promptly responded through Yoshinori Muto, but his equalizer was flagged offside in the 14th minute.
Dortmund had to wait until the 43rd minute as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doubled the lead from inside the box.
After the restart, Dortmund remained in control of the proceedings on the pitch. However, the visitors failed to turn their dominance into a tangible reward.
The hosts punished Dortmund's wastefulness when Dani Lazat headed home Levin Oeztunali's cross to the far post to restore parity out of the blue in the 83rd minute.
Mainz almost made a surprise reply to Dortmund, but Pablo De Blasis effort missed the target just wide in injury time.
With the result, Dortmund stay in 4th place while Mainz climb to 10th position in the Bundesliga standings.
Elsewhere, Freiburg grabbed a 2-1 victory over Hertha Berlin, who suffered their second straight loss.
Janik Haberer broke the deadlock in the 39th minute before Nils Petersen doubled the lead in the dying minutes of the game. Berlin reduced the arrears moments later through substitute Julian Schieber, but Freiburg were able to stand firm to clinch the eighth win of the season.
Freiburg jump to 8th place with the win, while Hertha Berlin slump to 6th position.