Player ratings as Borussia Dortmund suffer 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen
By Tushar Bahl
Borussia Dortmund lost further ground in the title race with a 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the final game of the hinrunde.
Needing a win to move up to third place in the Bundesliga table, Borussia Dortmund started poorly and conceded the opener in just the 14th minute. It was Moussa Diaby who scored for Bayer Leverkusen, taking advantage of some very ordinary defending from the Black and Yellows. The hosts had a number of chances to add to their lead in the first half, but Roman Bürki kept Dortmund in the game going into half-time.
Borussia Dortmund came back stronger after the break, and Julian Brandt scored the equaliser against his former club. But more lacklustre defending allowed Florian Wirtz to race clear on goal and restore Leverkusen’s advantage ten minutes from time.
Borussia Dortmund weren’t able to find a late equaliser, and were condemned to their sixth defeat of the season in the Bundesliga. Here are our player ratings for the Borussia Dortmund players from the game.
Roman Bürki (5.5/10)
Bürki made an incredible 11 saves to prevent Levekusen from inflicting further damage on the Dortmund goal. But he probably could have done a lot better with Moussa Diaby’s opener, and his distribution play also left a lot to be desired.