PLAYER RATINGS | Bayer Leverkusen 2-4 Borussia Dortmund | OneFootball

Both teams had something meaningful to play for, with Bayer Leverkusen wanting to give Xabi Alonso a winning send-off at home, while Borussia Dortmund are still in the hunt for Champions League football.

To sum up, the first half was very 24/25 Leverkusen. They were dominant for much of the first 45, but two lapses in concentration allowed a rather timid Dortmund side to come from behind and take the lead. On top of this, Leverkusen lack their usual clinicality without a real striker (we are doing this again).

Leverkusen’s first-half dominance paid off when nice link-up play and composure from both Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz allowed the Dutchman to open the scoring. Cue all players running to Alonso. However, the lead would not last for long as Dortmund equalised through former Leverkusen player Julian Brandt, with their first shot on target of the whole game. Despite this, the visitors still looked like they were hanging on and relied upon Gregor Kobel several times to keep Leverkusen out. Then Dortmund would take the lead when a tackle from Ramy Bensebaini on Granit Xhaka started the move, and Julian Ryerson finished it. Just before half time, Kobel would make another good save to keep Leverkusen out, before die Werkself would also hit the crossbar.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first half, with Leverkusen seeing more of the ball, but this time they were unable to create meaningful chances, in what was a rather uneventful first part of the second 45. Then in the 73rd minute, Julian Brandt played through Karim Adeyemi, who used his pace to outrun the Leverkusen back line to make it 3-1. Four minutes later, Serhou Guirassy would also score to make it 4-1. A great trivela assist from Florian Wirtz to Jonas Hofmann’s goal proved a consolation.

A big win for Dortmund as they are only one point off of the Champions League places, with Freiburg playing Eintracht Frankfurt and Dortmund hosting Holstien Kiel, there is a real possibility that they have, somehow, been able to pull themselves into Champions League contention, if Frankfurt loses to St.Pauli, then Dortmund can even finish as high as third on the final day.

It is a testament to the work that Niko Kovac has done since taking over, and it also makes you think, what Dortmund could have achieved this season if they did not spend the first six months of it pretending not to know how to kick a football. With the right moves in the transfer market, Dortmund could be heading on a very positive and exciting trajectory.

For Leverkusen, the loss meant nothing in terms of the table, but it was also fitting one and summed up their season in a nutshell: Not clinical enough and not good enough defensively. The performance also drilled home the fact that the squad needs a shake-up next season.

How far Leverkusen fall off will be down to three (rather obvious) things:

What cannot be forgotten is that Alonso turned a team that was dubbed ‘Neverkusen’ into winners. He is their greatest manager ever, and this team currently holds a record that not even Bayern Munich have been able to come close to. That is something to be proud of.

Bayer Leverkusen XI:

Lukas Hradecky (4), Edmond Tapsoba (5), Jonathan Tah (4), Piero Hincapié (4), Jeremie Frimpong (6), Granit Xhaka (5), Robert Andrich (5), Alejandro Grimaldo (5), Florian Wirtz (7), Amine Adli (5), Nathan Tella (5)

Others: Jonas Hofmann (5), Patrik Schick (5), Exequiel Palacios (5), Aleix Garcia (5), Arthur (5)

Borussia Dortmund XI:

Gregor Kobel (8), Niklas Süle (6), Waldemar Anton (6), Ramy Bensebaini (5), Julian Ryerson (6), Felix Nmecha (6), Pascal Groß (6), Daniel Svensson (5) Julian Brandt (7), Karim Adeyemi (6), Serhou Guirassy (6)

Others: Marcel Sabitzer (5), Emre Can (5), Sahil Özcan (-), Yan Couto (-), Jamie Gittens (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Gregor Kobel (8)

Without the eight saves that Kobel made this afternoon, the game would have well and truly been over for Dortmund in the first half alone. The Swiss’s contribution was the difference maker for Dortmund.

GGFN | Jack Meenan