Dortmund survive late pressure to edge Leverkusen 2-1
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
LEVERKUSEN, Germany, Nov 29 - Borussia Dortmund scored once in each half and survived a late Bayer Leverkusen comeback attempt to win 2-1 on Saturday and leapfrog the hosts into third place in the Bundesliga.
Argentina youth international Aaron Anselmino headed home a Daniel Svensson free kick after 41 minutes to put Dortmund, who crushed Villarreal 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, in front before Karim Adeyemi headed in Fabio Silva's cross in the 65th.
Leverkusen, 2-0 winners at Manchester City in the Champions League in midweek, pulled a goal back through substitute Christian Kofane in the 83rd after Jonas Hofmann and Ernest Poku had rattled the crossbar.
Dortmund had conceded late equalisers in their last two league matches but, despite late Leverkusen pressure, they held on to earn the three points.
The two sides will meet again in the German Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday, with Dortmund the hosts this time.
"It was not easy. After the goal we conceded they put pressure on us," Dortmund coach Niko Kovac told a press conference. "Today it was a good team performance. It was good to see how we faced a top opponent today.
"There was tension in the last minutes but we defended well today," added Kovac. "I had a really good feeling today. Despite the late pressure I still had the feeling that nothing would go wrong. Four days after Villarreal, to play the game in such a way shows the team is learning."
The Ruhr valley club are third on 25 points, one point behind second-placed RB Leipzig and two ahead of Leverkusen in fourth. Champions Bayern Munich lead the title race on 34 following a 3-1 victory over St Pauli earlier on Saturday. REUTERS
