Bayer Leverkusen 3-4 Borussia Dortmund: Key Talking Points

Dortmund defense allows Leverkusen to operate with too much ease

While it’s no surprise to those that have been following Borussia Dortmund for some time that the team suffers from significant defensive lapses at times, the game against Leverkusen did a lot to highlight them in the most egregiously negative way possible. Coming into the game, it was to be expected that the tie would be an open affair. Dortmund have had a rocky start, and Leverkusen have been the spitting image of precision. Leverkusen’s record speaks for itself: Prior to Saturday’s clash they had scored 12 and shipped 2 goals in their last 4 games. It was to be expected that they would come into the game well organized and score once, maybe twice from some well crafted situations.

The fact of the matter is that while Leverkusen were resourceful in taking their chances, they can hardly be given credit for impeccable creative play because Dortmund’s defense was abysmal at times. Leverkusen were allowed to freely roam through the midfield and the defense, their counter attacks far too easily executed. Because the fact of the matter is that all three goals were caused by individual mistakes that left Dortmund in a dangerous position.

While we could sit here and analyze all three in detail, the most damning of Leverkusen’s strikes was the third, because it was by far the easiest for Leverkusen to pull off via Moussa Diaby, and resulted from a sheer lack of organization and proper clearing of the ball. The 54th minute saw Dortmund defending a corner, a classic kryptonite that the team has had to deal with for years now. The ball was whipped in to the center of the box and cleared to the edge.

The ball fell to Diaby who completely scuffed his initial shot. With Jude Bellingham’s back turned towards him and no other pressure mounting, Diaby took another shot that went right in between two Dortmund players and into Kobel’s net. There’s not much for the keeper to do in this situation, which is a direct result of allowing Diaby to make another attempt instead of being quick to close him down and retrieve the ball. It is by far the most ludicrous of all of Leverkusen’s because of how avoidable it was. The squad can be forgiven for conceding to a team in form, but not like this.