Borussia Dortmund is back in the running for the Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen has suffered the first setback after five wins in a row in the Bundesliga. The effectiveness in front of the goal and an outstanding Gregor Kobel in the BVB goal made the difference on Sunday (01/29/2023).
When BVB made it 2-0 (1-0) in the BayArena, the goal shot statistics said it all after exactly one hour: Leverkusen were 9-3 up in terms of shots, but Dortmund scored both goals. Kobel was clearly the man of the day: the visitors’ keeper defused everything that came his way with class reflexes and top positional play.
BVB coach Edin Terzic was happy afterwards in the Sportschau interview: “In terms of results, it was a perfect start to 2023. It was not only an important victory, but also a deserved one. But we also know that there is still a long way to go , we now want to take the next step.”
Wirtz and Haller return to the starting XI
At the beginning of the game several comebacks were in focus. At Bayer Leverkusen, Florian Wirtz returned to the starting XI for the first time after tearing his cruciate ligament, while Sébastien Haller, who has recovered from cancer, started for Dortmund. In addition, Marco Reus was back in the squad, who, like Wirtz, had missed the World Cup in Qatar due to an injury, he was allowed to play as a joker in the last few minutes.
To make it easier for Wirtz to get started, Bayer trainer Xabi Alonso came up with something surprising: He put him in the center forward position with every liberty, but the national player set the first accent from the second row: he served Moussa Diaby with one perfect pass in depth, but Kobel parried the Frenchman’s diagonal shot brilliantly (16th minute).
Leverkusen counterattack not played well
Haller, on the other hand, had trouble finding connection to the game for a long time, but he also managed a genius: in the 33rd minute he skilfully let a one-two between Julian Brandt and Jude Bellingham run through his legs, irritating the Leverkusen defense so much that Karim Adeyemi was free behind him – and was able to make it 1-0 without much effort.
The visitors’ lead was a little lucky at this point, because it had previously been an intense duel at eye level – with an amazing 21 fouls in the first half alone. As usual, Leverkusen relied heavily on counterattacks, but did not play them skillfully enough. Nadiem Amiri in particular made too many sloppiness in promising situations.
Dortmund uses the first chance
BVB didn’t exactly shine with well thought-out moves in a row, but at least with effectiveness: The 1-0 result not only from Amiri losing the ball, but also from the guests’ first real chance to score.
From the dressing room, Leverkusen came to the goal with a little more pull, but they couldn’t get past Kobel: Diaby failed the well-reacting Swiss player, as did Amine Adli twice. BVB countered effectively: After a wing change from Bellingham, Marius Wolf had plenty of time to cross on the right, in the center Haller again decisively irritated his opponent – Edmond Tapsoba’s shin kicked the ball into the Bayer goal to make it 2-0.
Wolf with strong flanks
When Leverkusen then made too many wrong decisions in counterattacks, Wolf should have gotten his second assist fifteen minutes before the end: Bellingham only caught his measured cross with his shoulder, so that the ball jumped centimeters past the post.
When Kobel thwarted Diaby’s big chance again fifteen minutes before the end, Leverkusen had the tooth pulled: The final quarter of an hour rippled along without any major highlights, only the Reus comeback in the 85th minute made the visiting fans cheer again .
Leverkusen struggles with the conclusion
Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich puzzled: “It can’t really be explained at the moment. We missed scoring one, two or three goals today. It was actually a good game from us, so I’m not worried now. We’ll continue to do well in the Keep your head up, it was clear that at some point there would be defeat again.”
Leverkusen opens against Augsburg
Bayer 04 Leverkusen are challenged to start the 19th match day in Augsburg (Friday, February 3rd, 2023 at 8:30 p.m.). One day later, Dortmund welcomes SC Freiburg for the top game (Saturday, February 4th, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.).