PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Bayer Leverkusen | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund delivered a great game as the Bundesliga returned with a bang after the winter break with the visitors beating an injury-hit Dortmund 3-2.

The Bundesliga was back like it never left when Leverkusen scored within 30 seconds to give them the lead when Dortmund were sloppy in their build-up, which allowed Nathan Tella to pounce. Minutes later, Patrik Schick would double Leverkusen’s lead and it was looking like it was going to be a rout. Jamie Gittens would then score for Dortmund in the 12th minute. three shots on target, three goals. Then within 20 minutes, it was 3-1 to Leverkusen as Schick scored his second of the game.

Dortmund were very ball-dominant but only in the latter stages of the half did they force several good saves from Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky. Die Schwarzgelben’s main issue was their backline, which is not a surprise considering the lack of senior options and they would likely live to regret this when it comes to the later stages of the game when players start to fatigue and Leverkusen are able to bring on Florian Wirtz while Dortmund have to rely on Giovanni Reyna.

The intensity of the game died down slightly in the second half and Leverkusen had a clear-cut chance to make it 4-1 early on in the second half when the ball was squared to Schick for a hat-trick but his shot was saved by Gregor Kobel. Dortmund would then be handed the chance to get themselves back in the game when they were awarded a soft penalty after contact between Edmond Tapsoba and Julien Duranville. Sehrou Guirassy would convert the penalty and set up a tense final 11 minutes.

I will get this out of the way now, as there are bigger consequences from this game. Considering Dortmund’s injury issues, this was a very heroic performance that despite going 2-0 down very early on, their heads didn’t drop and they were able to fight back and give Leverkusen several scares in the latter stages of the game. Yes, they are no longer unbeaten at home but they put up a big fight against a team fighting for the title.

Now, the big issue. Leverkusen’s win closes the gap to Bayern Munich to only a point, at least for the next 24 hours. With Bayern set to face Borussia Mönchengladbach tomorrow, the pressure is on. For Leverkusen, they also carry their form over from before the winter break which was a big question heading into this as they could have started slowly again like they did at the beginning of this season.

What this means is that this title race will likely involve two heavyweights slugging it out and it will be a case of who cracks first, and with Xabi Alonso being in the same position once again he will be more capable of handling the situation compared to his Bayern counter part.

Borussia Dortmund XI:

Gregor Kobel (4), Yan Couto (5), Julian Ryerson (5), Yannik Lührs (5), Almugera Kabar (5), Felix Nmecha (6), Karim Adeyemi (5), Maximilian Beier (5) Julian Brandt (4), Jamie Gittens (6), Serhou Guirassy (6)

Others: Julien Duranville (6), Giovanni Reyna (5), Marcel Sabitzer (5), Donyell Malen (5), Cole Campbell (-)

Bayer Leverkusen XI:

Lukas Hradecky (6), Edmond Tapsoba (7), Jonathan Tah (5), Piero Hincapié (5), Nordi Mukiele (6), Granit Xhaka (5), Robert Andrich (5), Alejandro Grimaldo (6), Jeremie Frimpong (6), Nathan Tella (6), Patrik Schick (8)

Others: Florian Wirtz (5), Martin Terrier (5), Exequiel Palacios (-), Arthur (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Patick Schick (8)

Continues his great goalscoring form. For the past couple of seasons, Schick has looked a long way off of his best but now he looks like is back to his peak. The big Czech could have scored a hat-trick and it would have made the game a lot more comfortable for Leverkusen. Boniface will have a hard time getting back into the starting 11 when he returns from his injury.

GGFN | Jack Meenan