Aarón Anselmino the highly rated defender on loan from Chelsea scored his first goal for Borussia Dortmund and helped them seal a massive 2-1 victory over top-four rivals Bayer Leverkusen. The win also means BVB have now lost just once in their last 13 away game in the league, Softfootball reports.
Leverkusen came into the match flying. They had smashed four straight opponents, and were still buzzing from their impressive 2–0 win away at Manchester City during the week. That confidence showed early on, with Ernest Poku cutting inside and blasting over in the first real chance of the game.
For long spells in the first half, Leverkusen looked in control but they failed to turn that control into real danger. And Dortmund made them pay. Just before halftime, Daniel Svensson whipped in a beautiful set-piece, and Anselmino rose highest, powering home a brilliant header past Mark Flekken to silence the BayArena. For a team that usually scores first at home, Leverkusen suddenly found themselves in unfamiliar territory at the break.
The hosts reacted well after the restart. Malik Tillman should have levelled but headed wide from close range, and moments later Serhou Guirassy forced a sharp stop from Flekken before being subbed off for Fábio Silva. That change turned out to be inspired.
Only four minutes after coming on, Silva delivered a stunning curled cross that caught Loïc Badé off guard, allowing Karim Adeyemi to nip in front and nod home Dortmund’s second goal.
Leverkusen tried to mount a comeback. Jonas Hofmann hit the crossbar with a powerful effort, while Julian Brandt facing his former club curled wide after being put clean through. It looked like Dortmund would comfortably see out the win, but with seven minutes left, Ibrahim Mazaw’s inswinging cross was poked in by Christian Kofane to set up a nervy finish.
Even so, Dortmund held firm. It was exactly the response they needed after hurting from two late-game heartbreaks in recent league matches. The victory pushes them into third place, leapfrogging Leverkusen in the standings.
After the game, Borussia Dortmund via its official X handle, shared the players post game reactions, thanking the traveling fans for their incredible support as the held on to a massive victory at Leverkusen. They posted:
For Leverkusen, this result stings. Aside from their heavy defeat to Bayern, they had won every match in November but this loss is now their sixth in the last 10 meetings with Dortmund. And for Dortmund, the night belongs to Aarón Anselmino, a Chelsea loanee making a huge impact at exactly the right time.
