bundesliga

Victor Boniface preserves Leverkusen's unbeaten record with draw against Dortmund

03.12.2023

Victor Boniface scored an equaliser from a Patrik Schick assist as Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to draw with Borussia Dortmund and keep their unbeaten record alive.

Leverkusen 1-1 Dortmund
Goals: 0-1 Ryerson 5' (assist: Füllkrug), 1-1 Boniface 79' (assist: Schick)

Dortmund got off to a flyer with Julian Ryerson giving them the lead within five minutes. Niclas Füllkrug held the ball up well before teeing his teammate up to dispatch coolly past Lukáš Hrádecký to stun the home fans. Leverkusen reacted as you would expect an unbeaten league leader to do so, with a fire in their bellies. Granit Xhaka went so close to levelling, half of the BayArena thought his shot had gone in, while Jonas Hofmann and Jonathan Tah also only narrowly missed making contact with dangerous crosses. Florian Wirtz thought the hosts' persistence had paid off on the stroke of half-time when he hammered his effort in off the underside of the crossbar, but an earlier offside position of Victor Boniface meant the goal did not stand.

Jamie Bynoe-Gittens burst through for a chance to double Dortmund's lead early in the second half but Odilon Kossounou recovered well to muscle him off the ball before he could shoot. Much like in the first half, Leverkusen were sparked into life by that early opportunity, but they struggled still to make any headway. Xhaka curled one opportunity wide from the edge of the area as the game opened up, and with the clock ticking, Leverkusen were forced to commit players forward while Dortmund looked to do further damage on the break. Patrik Schick was sent on to add further firepower to the Leverkusen attack, and he needed just seconds to make a difference, teeing up Boniface for the equaliser. Boniface fizzed in another shot to sting Gregor Kobel's palms as the hosts sought a winner, but they had to settle for a point as Dortmund's defence held firm.

Watch: B04's Victor Boniface praises teammate Patrik Schick

Match stats

This is the first time this season that Leverkusen trailed at half-time.
Boniface's goal was his eighth of the season, and he broke a run of five Bundesliga matches without finding the back of the net.
Ryerson's three goals this season is a new personal best for a single campaign, while no defender has scored more in the Bundesliga this term.
Fülkrug now has four assists and four goals; only Julian Brandt has had a direct hand in more Dortmund goals (9) this season (four goals, five assists).
This was the first time this season that Leverkusen failed to score two goals or more.
Dortmund have the exact same points total after 13 matches (25) as they had at the same stage last season.

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Teams

Leverkusen: Hrádecký (c) - Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba - Frimpong, Palacios (Schick 79'), Xhaka, Grimaldo - Hofmann (Adli 64'), Wirtz - Boniface
Unused subs: Kovář, Stanišić, Hincapié, Andrich, Amiri, Tella, Hlozek
Out: Arthur (thigh)
Coach: Xabi Alonso

Dortmund: Kobel - Wolf, Hummels, Schlotterbeck (Papadopoulos 64'), Ryerson - Sabitzer, Can (c) - Bynoe-Gittens (Adeyemi 64'), Reus (Meunier 84'), Brandt - Füllkrug
Unused subs: Meyer, Morey, Reyna, Haller, Moukoko, Malen
Out: Bensebaini (ill), Duranville (thigh), Lotka (suspended), Nmecha (hip), Özcan (ill), Süle (ill)
Coach: Edin Terzić