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Borussia Dortmund’s makeshift defensive line, cobbled together due to a wave of illness in the BVB camp, crumbled under pressure against Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Signal Iduna Park on Friday night. Despite a much-improved second-half performance, Nuri Sahin’s team ultimately fell to a 3-2 defeat against the defending champions.
The 2025 portion of the 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign got off to a chaotic start, with kickoff delayed by 15 minutes due to traffic conditions preventing the hosting team from arriving on time. Leverkusen‘s Xabi Alonso then dropped a surprise by scratching German phenom Florian Wirtz from the starting lineup due to an “internal” matter.
Dortmund’s defensive woes were compounded by the absence of several key players due to illness, leading to senior team starting debuts for BVB II youngsters Almugera Kabar and Yannik Lührs. The makeshift back-four, which included versatile Norwegian veteran Julian Ryerson in central defense alongside Lührs, struggled to contain Leverkusen’s attacking threats.
The visitors took advantage of Dortmund’s defensive vulnerabilities, converting all three of their opening scoring opportunities to rush out to a 3-1 lead. Patrick Schick and Jeremie Frimpong celebrated scoring the early 2-0, with Schick adding a third goal in the 19th minute.
Dortmund managed to pull a goal back in the 12th minute through Jamie Gittens, but Leverkusen’s basic strategy of allowing their hosts to maintain possession and capitalizing on mistakes proved effective. Despite dominating possession, Dortmund were unable to overcome their defensive woes and carry their fine 2024 home form into the new year.
The match saw several lulls in momentum after the early goals, but Leverkusen’s tactic of allowing Dortmund to maintain possession and hoping to capitalize on mistakes continued to pay dividends. Schick missed a chance to secure a hat-trick in the 61st minute, but Dortmund were granted a lifeline 15 minutes from time when substitute match official Tobias Stieler awarded a penalty.
Serhou Guirassy drew Dortmund within one goal from the spot in the 79th minute, but Edmond Tapsoba recovered to make several key defensive stops as Sahin threw everything forward in pursuit of an equalizer that never came.
