After almost 21 years, Borussia Dortmund are defeated again on a Friday evening in their own stadium. BVB lose 2:3 against Bayer Leverkusen. This is what Xhaka, Kobel and Co. say after the game.
11.01.2025, 09:39
11.01.2025, 12:08
dpa
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- Bayer Leverkusen celebrate a 3-2 away win against a shorthanded Dortmund side to kick off the second half of the season.
- BVB goalie Kobel finds it "extremely bitter" and his coach is also annoyed by the three quick goals conceded.
- Leverkusen's Granit Xhaka was also frustrated, ranting about the referee.
- After the match, Bayer coach Xabi Alonso provides a coherent explanation as to why he left superstar Florian Wirtz on the bench for an hour.
Nathan Tella gives Leverkusen the lead after just 25 seconds following a loss of possession by Dortmund. Patrik Schick was completely free to score his two goals in the 8th and 19th minutes. He expected "my boys to defend better", said an annoyed BVB coach Nuri Sahin after the game. Dortmund lost a home game in the Bundesliga for the first time since the beginning of April 2024.
Dortmund were missing six players at short notice due to illness. Sahin therefore only has one trained central defender at his disposal - Bundesliga starting debutant Yannik Lührs. "Totally unusual. It was like a bad joke," said Sahin about the absences. "I had the feeling that I was getting a message every hour that a player was out."
However, he does not want to use the high sickness rate in his team as an excuse for the three quick goals conceded. "That's far too easy - even in this constellation, in which we'll probably never play together again."
The Revierclub had a lot of possession against the German champions, and their commitment was also good. However, BVB are not dangerous enough in attack. "It's extremely bitter. In the end, we can't buy anything from it. We're left with zero points," said Swiss international goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Xhaka criticizes referee - a lesson for Wirtz?
Leverkusen star Granit Xhaka actually has every reason to be happy. After all, Bayer's victory puts pressure on leaders Bayern Munich. But that doesn't interest the Swiss: "We're not looking at Bayern at all, but at ourselves." And the referee...
Because the national team captain gave him a scathing report. "Dortmund didn't have any big chances at all until the penalty. The referee made it exciting again. That's never a penalty for me. If there's a penalty for something like that, then you have to give penalties for almost every action in the penalty area," raged Xhaka in an interview with Dazn.
Coach Xabi Alonso leaves Florian Wirtz on the bench for more than an hour at the start of the second half of the season. Some people rub their eyes in astonishment and speculation about the reasons does the rounds. Late in the evening, Alonso provides an explanation. According to the 43-year-old, the 21-year-old Wirtz had been stuck in a traffic jam on a bridge and had therefore joined the team too late.
"It's the classic bridge in Cologne that causes so many problems," added Alonso, getting a few laughs on his side. Defensive midfielder Exequiel Palacios is also affected by the traffic jam, according to Alonso. The Argentine was only substituted in the final stages.
