Jude Bellingham leads Borussia Dortmund past Bayer Leverkusen and up to fourth in the standings
Jude Bellingham captained Borussia Dortmund to a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen that closes the gap on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to three points.
Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Adeyemi 33' (assist: Brandt), 0-2 Tapsoba (o.g. 53')
After Bayern dropped points for the third successive game this year, Edin Terzic named testicular cancer survivor Sebastien Haller in his starting line-up for the first time, in a bid to keep Dortmund in touch at the top. There was a reason Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen went into the contest on a five-match winning run, though, and BVB needed Gregor Kobel to be alert to an early warning shot from Nadiem Amiri. The Dortmund No.1 pulled off an even better save to thwart Moussa Diaby's low drive, before the visitors landed a sucker-punch with their first meaningful attack. Haller dummied Julian Brandt's right-wing cross, allowing Karim Adeyemi to swipe home with aplomb from inside the area.
It took another fine Kobel save to prevent Diaby firing Leverkusen level early in the second half. Amine Adli shaped to put away the loose ball, only for Julian Ryerson to make a vital clearance in front of goal. As in the first 45, Dortmund's response was emphatic. Bellingham led a blistering counter and was all poised to finish off the move, when Bayer defender Edmond Tapsoba unwittingly converted Marius Wolf's right-wing cross. Chances flowed, with Tapsoba clearing off the line from Brandt and Bellingham glancing wide. Kobel repelled Diaby and Kerim Demirbay in an entertaining finale as BVB saw out a third straight win to go fourth in the table, leaving Leverkusen down in ninth.
Match stats
- Dortmund have a 100 percent record in 2023 (W3).
- Haller made his first competitive start for Dortmund since joining the club in July 2022.
- Adeyemi scored his first Bundesliga goal, on his 14th appearance in the German top flight.
- Bellingham - Dortmund's youngest-ever captain - led the side out for the third time in all competitions this season.
- None of the last 11 Bundesliga meetings between these teams have ended in draws: Dortmund have won eight, Leverkusen three.
- Alonso's Leverkusen trailed at half time and lost at the BayArena for the first time (W4, D1), despite firing off a record 20 attempts on goal under the Spanish coach.
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Teams
Leverkusen: Hradecky (c) - Frimpong, Tapsoba, Tah (Bakker 63'), Hincapie - Palacios (Bellarabi 70'), Andrich - Diaby, Wirtz (Hlozek 70'), Amiri (Demirbay 80') - Adli (Azmoun 80')
Unused subs: Lomb, Kossounou, Sinkgraven, Fosu-Mensah
Out: Aranguiz (calf), Schick (groin)
Coach: Xabi Alonso
Dortmund: Kobel - Wolf (Hummels 85'), Süle, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson - Can, Özcan, Bellingham (c) - Adeyemi (Bynoe-Gittens 72'), Haller (Modeste 61'), Brandt (Reus 85')
Unused subs: Meyer, Reyna, Guerreiro, Moukoko, Malen
Out: Kamara (knee), Meunier (muscular), Morey (match fitness)
Coach: Edin Terzic
Watch: Alonso: "Could have had one goal"
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