Leverkusen 4-3 Dortmund: Report, Ratings & Reaction as BVB Title Charge Stumbles in 7-Goal Thriller

Borussia Dortmund have missed the chance to move joint top of the Bundesliga following a thrilling match against local rivals Bayer Leverkusen, who came back from behind twice to pick up a 4-3 win at the BayArena.

Jadon Sancho was causing problems down Leverkusen's right and Erling Haaland had an effort that went narrowly wide of the post, but it was Bayer Leverkusen who found the breakthrough through Kevin Volland.

Their lead didn't last long though, as just over a minute later centre-back Mats Hummels fired a header into the back of Lukáš Hrádecký's net after a pinpoint corner from Sancho.

Moussa Diaby hit back almost instantly but his strike was ruled out for offside, but Borussia Dortmund were able to take the lead for the first time in the match through a 35-yard strike from ex-Leverkusen midfielder Can - starting his first game for the club.

Jadon Sancho had a goal ruled out after an intervention from the Video Assistant Referee early in the second half, but Raphaël Guerreiro eventually did put Lucien Favre's side into the lead with a smart finish across Hrádecký

The drama didn't end there as goals from Leon Bailey and Lars Bender in the space of a minute saw Bayer Leverkusen retake the lead, with Peter Bosz's side able to hold on for the win to move up into fifth.

Bayer Leverkusen

Player Ratings

Hradecky (8); L. Bender (6), Tah (8), Tapsoba (7), Sinkgraven (7); S. Bender (6), Bellarabi (6), Havertz (6), Amiri (6), Diaby (7); Volland (8).

Substitutes: Weiser (6), Bailey (8), Dragovic (N/A).

Borussia Dortmund

Key Talking Point

Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and Borussia Dortmund putting on a show.

Lucien Favre's side were characteristically suspect in defence and allowed Kevin Volland to score the opening goal of the game as well as an equaliser, while Moussa Diaby and Nadiem Amiri were also enjoying themselves in the final third of the pitch.

But what often offsets Borussia Dortmund's ability to shoot themselves in the foot is their quality in attack, which was close to being back to its free-flowing best against one of the Bundesliga's strongest sides.

Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and Julian Brandt were causing problems both on and off the ball, while Axel Witsel and Emre Can even had chances when they ventured forward throughout the match.

It's always a weekly battle between attack and defence for Borussia Dortmund. Ultimately it was problems at the back which proved to win this time around, highlighting their major stumbling block in the pursuit of more trophies over the last seven years.

Player Ratings

Burki (6); Akanji (6), Hummels (7), Zagadou (7); Hakimi (7), Witsel (8), Can (7), Guerreiro (7); Sancho (9), Brandt (7), Haaland (8).

Substitutes: Reyna (6), Hazard (6), Gotze (6).

Jadon Sancho

Not everything went Jadon Sancho's way against Bayer Leverkusen, but Borussia Dormtund's Strassenfussballer still proved to be the difference-maker.

Both sides are filled to the brim with gifted players who already have world-class technical ability, but Sancho brings something different to Borussia Dortmund's attack which teams in the Bundesliga really struggle to deal with.

As well as setting up Dortmund's first goal of the game, the England international also had a goal ruled out after teammate Gio Reyna committed a foul in the build-up to Sancho's strike which prompted the Video Assistant Referee to intervene.

Looking Ahead

Borussia Dortmund will look to rest before back-to-back home games, hosting Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga before Paris Saint-Germain make the trip in the Champions League knockout stages.

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