Florian Wirtz (R) of Leverkusen shoots during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund suffered a setback in the title race after third-placed Bayer Leverkusen clinched a stunning 5-2 victory at the closing of the 21st round on Sunday.
The game started with an own goal from each team in the opening stages. Dortmund's Manuel Akanji deflected a parry into the wrong goal to give Leverkusen the lead in the 11th minute before Jeremie Frimpong flicked on a Dortmund free-kick over his goalkeeper Lennart Grill to level the scores five minutes later.
Both sides remained dangerous in front of the target, but Leverkusen was a menace on counterattacks and took the lead in the 20th minute when Florian Wirtz finished off a combination via Karim Bellarabi.
Dortmund couldn't answer and was two goals behind at the half-hour mark as Robert Andrich drilled a free-kick from the edge of the box into the near post corner to stun BVB's custodian Gregor Kobel.
Even after the restart, Leverkusen remained in control of the proceedings and made it 4-1 on the scoreboards as Dortmund couldn't clear a corner allowing Jonathan Tah to artistically hammer the ball into the roof of the net with 53 minutes gone.
Things went from bad to worse for uninspired Dortmund after Frimpong's cross the second post found Moussa Diaby, who established a 5-1 advantage left-footed from close range in the 87th minute.
The hosts showed a sign of life in the closing stages as substitute Steffen Tigges benefitted from Youssoufa Moukoko's good build-up work to reduce the arrears.
"It is a bitter defeat. We never gained a foothold into the encounter. It is a deserved victory for Leverkusen," Borussia Dortmund's head coach Marco Rose said.
"We utilized most of our chances, scored nice goals and showed great ball-winning. In the table we look down to ensure we stay in the top four," Bayer Leverkusen's head coach Gerado Seoane said.
Elsewhere, struggling Wolfsburg ended its losing run and returned to winning ways after easing 5-1 past last-placed Greuther Furth. Aster Vranckx's brace paved the way for the "Wolves" seventh win of the campaign. ■
Robert Andrich (R) of Leverkusen vies with Donyell Malen of Dortmund during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Jonathan Tah (1st R) of Leverkusen celebrates scoring with teammate Mitchel Bakker (3rd R) during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Florian Wirtz (R) of Leverkusen celebrates scoring with teammates Patrik Schick (L) and Karim Bellarabi during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Florian Wirtz of Leverkusen celebrates after scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Players of Leverkusen celebrate scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Robert Andrich (R) of Leverkusen vies with Jude Bellingham of Dortmund during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
Patrik Schick (L) of Leverkusen vies with Dan-Axel Zagadou of Dortmund during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dortmund, Germany, Feb. 6, 2022. (Photo by Joachim Bywaletz/Xinhua)
