In a pulsating encounter at Signal Iduna Park on Friday, Bayer Leverkusen edged out Borussia Dortmund 3-2, narrowing the gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to just one point.
Leverkusen wasted no time asserting their dominance, with Nathan Tella opening the scoring in the very first minute. Capitalizing on Dortmund’s failure to clear their lines, Robert Andrich set up Tella, who unleashed a powerful strike into the top-left corner from the edge of the box.
The visitors doubled their lead just seven minutes later. Piero Hincapie delivered a precise square pass to the far post, finding Patrik Schick ready to tap in from close range, leaving the home crowd stunned.
Dortmund responded swiftly in the 12th minute. An attempted clearance by Andrich fell to Jamie Gittens, who deftly chipped the ball over the advancing Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, rekindling hope for the hosts.
However, Leverkusen restored their two-goal cushion in the 19th minute. Jeremie Frimpong’s incisive cutback found Schick once more, who made no mistake from close range to secure his brace.
The second half saw Leverkusen with an opportunity to extend their lead further, but Schick was denied by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel on the hour mark. Dortmund seized this lifeline, and in the 79th minute, VAR intervention resulted in a penalty after a handball in the box. Serhou Guirassy calmly converted, sending Hradecky the wrong way and setting up a tense finale.
Despite late pressure from Dortmund, Leverkusen held firm to claim a vital victory. The win propels them closer to the top spot, intensifying the title race. Dortmund, meanwhile, find themselves in sixth place after their fifth defeat of the season.
Reference(s):
Leverkusen overpower Dortmund in five-goal thriller in Bundesliga
cgtn.com
