🇩🇪 Leverkusen win five-goal thriller at BVB to send big title message | OneFootball

Reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen kicked off 2025 the best way possible by handing Borussia Dortmund their first league home loss after a 3-2 win.

Scorers: Gittens 12', Guirassy 79' (P); Tella 1', Schick 8', 19'

A match pitting two German heavyweights against each other would always be a tasty contest. Unfortunately for the hosts, things got off to a rocky start, with four defenders ruled out through illness hours before kickoff.

Nico Schlotterbeck, Emré Can, Waldemar Anton, and Ramy Bensebaini all missed the game, leaving BVB's backline vulnerable. Leverkusen subsequently hit the ground running and scored immediately.

Dortmund failed to clear their lines, and the ball eventually fell to Nathan Tella, who volleyed home a rocket past Gregor Kobel at the near post. The official match clock timed the strike at just 25 seconds.

Then, in a flash, there were two more for Leverkusen, courtesy of Patrik Schick. The Czechia star raced forward into the box and easily redirected a cross before later peeling off a defender and finishing at the back post.

Dortmund showed they, too, could find the net and did so between Schick's brace. Jamie Gittens pulled off a delicate left-foot finish at the near post, beating goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.

The second half saw Florian Wirtz enter the game at the hour mark to try and help Leverkusen increase their possession from just 27%. However, Dortmund's dominance on the ball eventually resulted in the match's fifth goal.

Defender Edmond Tapsoba was deemed to have hit Julien Duranville in the face as they were in a 1-v-1 situation, and VAR awarded the hosts a penalty. Serhou Guirassy stepped up and turned things 3-2.

Their late flurry failed to muster up a potential equaliser, though, and Leverkusen narrowly held on for victory. It means the reigning champions are only one point behind current leaders Bayern Munich while Dortmund are sixth.

📸 Lars Baron - 2025 Getty Images