Thanks to a double from its Czech center forward Patrik Schick, Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit 16th day) and sends a clear message.
Before Bayern’s trip to Mönchengladbach on Saturday (6:30 p.m.), Bayer, the reigning champion, comes within one point of the Munich residents (35 against 36), who go to Borussia Park where they have not been too successful in recent years (five defeats in their last nine trips).
Beaten for the first time this season in the Bundesliga at home, Dortmund is already 10 points behind Leverkusen (25 points).
For Xabi Alonso’s men, it is the ninth consecutive victory in all competitions, notably against Inter Milan (1-0) in the Champions League and Bayern (1-0) in the round of 16 of the European Cup. Germany.
A rhythm reminiscent of last season, when the Werkself (the “factory eleven”, nickname of the club team founded by the chemist Bayer in 1904) had 14 victories in a row – its best series -, had lost only one match this season in the Europa League final and had achieved the Cup/championship double.
Leverkusen left 2024 with a quadruplet from Patrik Schick against Freiburg (5-1), and started 2025 with a double (8th, 19th) from the Czech international center forward, his 10th and 11th goals this season in the Bundesliga (15 all competitions combined) in the space of two months.
The opener for Leverkusen came from Nathan Tella after just 25 seconds of play. Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky saved his team twice against Serhou Guirassy (29th) and Karim Adeyemi (42nd), while Jamie Gittens had reduced the score for Dortmund in the 12th minute.
At the start of the last ten minutes, Dortmund regained hope with a penalty converted by Guirassy (79th, 3-2), but Leverkusen held on.
Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin had to fundamentally reshuffle his team, particularly in defense with youngsters Almugera Kabar (18 years old) and Yannik Lührs to compensate for the absences of Rami Bensebaini and Nico Schlotterbeck, while Julian Ryerson had to switch to central defense .
Xabi Alonso left the nugget of Leverkusen and German Football Florian Wirtz on the bench at the start of the match, who came on at the hour mark in place of Schick.
Bayer 04 hosts Mainz and Gladbach next week in the Bundesliga, before a trip to Madrid against Atlético in the Champions League, crucial for a place in the top 8 and direct qualification for the round of 16 of the C1.
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