Andrich strike lifts Leverkusen to vital win in Dortmund

It was a disciplined and mature away performance from Die Werkself, who combined defensive resilience with clinical opportunism to frustrate the hosts and return to the BayArena with maximum reward.

Dortmund made the brighter start, controlling possession in the opening stages as Leverkusen struggled to settle. Their first major opportunity arrived in the 18th minute when Montrell Culbreath misjudged a cross, allowing Daniel Svensson to pounce inside the area. The Swede steadied himself and aimed for the top corner, but Loïc Badé produced a superb goal-line clearance to preserve parity.

Leverkusen gradually grew into the contest and began to find moments of promise. Just past the half-hour mark, a loose pass from Gregor Kobel towards Marcel Sabitzer was intercepted, gifting Christian Kofane space to strike, but the forward could only muster a tame effort straight at the Dortmund goalkeeper.

The breakthrough arrived three minutes before the interval - and it came out of very little. Ramy Bensebaini’s misplaced pass in midfield was seized upon by Andrich, who drove forward with intent before unleashing a powerful strike into the bottom corner, leaving Kobel rooted and handing the visitors a 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half unfolded in a tense and fragmented manner, with both sides largely cancelling each other out. Dortmund struggled to translate possession into clear-cut chances, and their first real opening after the restart came just before the hour mark when Julian Ryerson’s cross found Serhou Guirassy, but the striker headed over from close range.

Frustration continued to mount for the Black and Yellows as their attacking play lacked precision in the final third. Their best chance to equalise came seven minutes from time, when substitute Carney Chukwuemeka teed up Guirassy, whose powerful effort crashed against Mark Flekken’s crossbar - an effort that summed up Dortmund’s wasteful afternoon.

Leverkusen held firm through the closing stages to seal a significant victory, making it back-to-back wins and piling pressure on Stuttgart in the race for Champions League qualification. For Dortmund, it was a disappointing display in attack, as their unbeaten run came to an end and they remain nine points adrift of league leaders Bayern Munich.