DÜSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen is having another one of those winning streaks. On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund seems to be a shadow of its former self.
The two teams that shone in Germany last season are on opposite trajectories as pressure mounts in the Bundesliga and Champions League.
With ten consecutive victories in all competitions, Xabi Alonso’s team, current champion of the national league, is putting pressure on Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga and ranks fourth in the Champions League standings out of 36 teams.
While it’s not quite last season’s 51-game unbeaten run, Leverkusen are now just four points behind Bayern, showing that Alonso remains one of the most sought-after managers in world football ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga match against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
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On the other hand, it is quite different for Nuri Sahin, at the head of Dortmund, finalist in the Champions League last year. His side have won just one of their seven games since November and hit rock bottom with a 4-2 defeat on Tuesday to Holstein Kiel, who are battling to avoid relegation.
Sahin called the performance “disgraceful” and took full responsibility as coach. Dortmund currently sit in tenth place, five points off the Champions League qualifying places.
Friday’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt could be crucial to any hopes of a turnaround.
The club has claimed that Sahin’s position is not in danger; he has navigated through difficult times during his seven months in office, and there is no obvious successor in sight.
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Firing him could also raise questions about Dortmund’s management decision to appoint Sahin despite his relative inexperience, and how he handled the relationship with his predecessor, Edin Terzic, who resigned after leading the team to the final of the Champions League in June.
When Leverkusen beat Dortmund 3-2 last week, it highlighted how both teams have dealt with adversity.
Leverkusen have been without starting striker Victor Boniface since he suffered a hamstring injury in November, but in his absence Patrik Schick has performed well. The Czech striker has scored 11 goals in the last two months, keeping Leverkusen on the right track. The main surprise in Leverkusen’s 1-0 win over Mainz on Tuesday was that the goal came from a free kick from Alejandro Grimaldo, rather than Schick.
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Dortmund, for their part, showed a worrying tendency to lose concentration for long periods. Even with several players on the flank due to illness, conceding three goals against Leverkusen in the first 19 minutes was alarming, especially considering Dortmund had over 80% possession during that period. Allowing three goals against Kiel in the space of 20 minutes was another low moment.
Meanwhile, Bayern host Wolfsburg on Saturday without having conceded a goal in 2025. All remained calm in Munich despite numerous potential distractions, amid speculation surrounding the future of several players whose contracts are expiring, including Leroy Sané, who scored twice in Bayern’s 5-0 demolition of Hoffenheim on Wednesday.
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This story was translated from Spanish by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
