“An incredible edge”: Leverkusen coach Hjulmand warns about BVB | OneFootball

There is a lot at stake for Bayer Leverkusen. If they lose in Dortmund on Saturday (11 April, 3:30 p.m.), the Werkself risk missing out on the Champions League. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand (54) is already under fire.

Fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart are already four points ahead. It could have been even more if Leverkusen had not turned a 1:3 deficit against struggling VfL Wolfsburg into a 6:3 victory on the previous matchday. That allowed the Rhineland side to avoid a sixth consecutive competitive match without a win.

For the match against BVB, Hjulmand has set his sights on all three points. “The goal is to win, it would be a big boost for us. We want to reduce the gap,” the Dane said at Friday’s press conference with the table in mind. The Leverkusen coach praised the upcoming opponent: “I’m expecting a top match against a great opponent.”

This season, the two clubs will meet for the third time already. In the previous two encounters, the away side won each time. In the Bundesliga, Dortmund won 2:1 at the BayArena. Just a few days later, Bayer got their revenge with a 1:0 win in the DFB-Pokal. “We’ve already played Dortmund twice this season, and both games were very close,” Hjulmand recalled, predicting: “It will be the same tomorrow.”

“With plenty of fire”

Leverkusen also still have another iron in the fire. In the cup, the Werkself are in the semi-finals and will host FC Bayern Munich in mid-April. “Dortmund no longer have any midweek matches, either domestically or in Europe,” Hjulmand said, seeing an advantage for the supposedly better-rested Black and Yellows. “They come in every week with plenty of fire and are currently in very good form.”

Photo: Getty Images

With 28 points, the Black and Yellows are the best team of the second half of the season. Leverkusen, by contrast, have collected only 17 points. Hjulmand sees the Westphalians as a model for his team. “They have an incredible sharpness, which we need as well,” stressed the 54-year-old, who is well aware of BVB’s efficiency. “They often don’t have many more chances than their opponents, yet they still win the games,” said the coach, who has been in charge since the beginning of September 2025. That was again the case in Dortmund’s recent 2:0 win in Stuttgart, when they struck in stoppage time.

Hjulmand reported that the main focus of his training sessions was defensive behaviour. Referring to the six goals conceded recently against Heidenheim and Wolfsburg, he criticised: “The way we’ve defended lately — that’s just not acceptable.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.