Borussia Dortmund survived a frantic finish, edging Bayer Leverkusen 2‑1
Borussia Dortmund opened the scoring just before half‑time when Daniel Svensson’s free‑kick found Argentina youth international Aaron Anselmino, who rose to head the ball past Mark Flekken in the 41st minute.
The goal was Anselmino’s first for the club and came after a solid defensive display in the first half, despite Leverkusen’s early pressure.
The second half saw Dortmund double their advantage in the 65th minute. Fabio Silva’s cross was met by Karim Adeyemi, who nodded the ball home from close range, putting the Ruhr‑valley side two goals up and looking set for a comfortable win.
Leverkusen refused to quit. Substitute Christian Kofane pulled one back in the 83rd minute, capitalising on a cross from Ibrahim Maza, while Jonas Hofmann earlier rattled the crossbar, keeping the hosts in the contest until the final whistle.
Coach Niko Kovac praised his team’s resilience: “It was not easy. After the goal we conceded they put pressure on us. Today it was a good team performance. There was tension in the last minutes but we defended well today. I had a really good feeling today – four days after Villarreal, playing this way shows the team is learning.”
The victory lifts Dortmund to third place on 25 points, one point behind RB Leipzig and two ahead of fourth‑placed Leverkusen. Bayern Munich remain comfortably atop the table with 34 points after beating St Pauli 3‑1 earlier in the day.
