bundesliga

Bayer Leverkusen snatch it late in seven-goal thriller with Borussia Dortmund

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Two late strikes from Leon Bailey and Lars Bender saw Bayer Leverkusen claim all three points in a seven-goal thriller with Borussia Dortmund, who had earlier led thanks to a 25-yard stunner from Emre Can.

Bayer Leverkusen 4-3 Borussia Dortmund
Goals: 1-0 Volland (20’), 1-1 Hummels (22’), 1-2 Can (33’), 2-2 Volland (43’), 2-3 Guerreiro (65’), 3-3 Bailey (81'), 4-3 L. Bender (82')

A goal-filled game got off to a surprising start when Erling Haaland had a shot saved for the first time in the Bundesliga, with Lukas Hradecky denying the teenager’s eighth attempt on goal from a tight angle. Leverkusen, though, took the lead when Kevin Volland was played in behind by Nadiem Amiri, shrugging off Manuel Akanji and burying the ball in the bottom corner. The hosts’ advantage lasted just two minutes before Mats Hummels headed home Jadon Sancho’s corner after slipping his marker. Moussa Diaby had a goal ruled out for offside before Can curled home a stunning 25-yard effort to mark his first BVB start away at his former club. Then it was the turn of the hosts to strike back when Volland smashed home after Jonathan Tah acrobatically kept the ball in play from a corner.

Sancho thought he’d put Borussia ahead again early in the second half after he swept home Achraf Hakimi’s low cross, but a foul in the build-up by half-time substitute Gio Reyna saw the goal ruled out by VAR. The American teenager nearly made amends as Hradecky turned one of his shots onto the post and almost into the back of the net off the diving goalkeeper’s back. Kai Havertz had been quiet in the opening hour but burst into life when one-on-one with Roman Bürki but struck the post. Less than a minute later, Dortmund led again as Raphael Guerreiro finished after being played in by Hakimi. Die Werkself just wouldn’t down tools, though. Substitute Bailey brought them level once more after Volland’s square ball before captain Bender’s towering header from a cross just a minute later claimed all three points in a sensational game.

Match stats

  • This was Leverkusen's first win over Dortmund since December 2016, ending a four-match losing run and six without victory against BVB.
  • Volland bagged his second brace of the season and took his total against Dortmund to seven goals in 16 games. The first was his 75th in the Bundesliga from 241 matches.
  • Hummels’ goal was his first for Dortmund since April 2016 in the UEFA Europa League against Liverpool. In the Bundesliga, it was his first since December 2015 against Eintracht Frankfurt. He is also the only player to have scored in each of the last 12 Bundesliga seasons.
  • Fifteen of Hummels’ 23 Bundesliga goals have been headers, including seven of the last eight.
  • Can scored in the Bundesliga for the first time since May 2014 for Leverkusen against Frankfurt. It was the fifth goal of his career in the league but the first from outside the box.
  • Sancho has now had a hand in 17 goals in his last 10 Bundesliga games. His seven assists in five league matches against Leverkusen is more than against any other team.

Watch: Bailey: "Showed we have quality to go forward"

Line-ups

Leverkusen: Hradecky – Tah, S. Bender, Tapsoba – Bellarabi (Weiser 46’), L. Bender (c), Amiri (Dragovic 89'), Sinkgraven – Havertz, Diaby (Bailey 71’) – Volland
Unused subs: Özcan, Alario, Wendell, Stanilewicz, Azhil
Out: Aranguiz (torn calf), Demirbay (suspended), Palacios (back), Paulinho (international duty)
Coach: Peter Bosz

Dortmund: Bürki – Akanji (Hazard 86'), Hummels (c), Zagadou, Guerreiro – Can (Götze 87'), Witsel – Hakimi, Brandt (Reyna 46’), Sancho – Haaland
Unused subs: Hitz, Piszczek, Balerdi, Schulz, Dahoud, Schmelzer
Out: Delaney (knee), Reus (muscular)
Coach: Lucien Favre

Watch: Can: "I'd have preferred to have not scored and won"