By Laura Brandt

Bender brothers explain heated dispute

The Bender brothers have explained their furious dispute after the final whistle of Leverkusen's 0-4 loss to Dortmund.
Lars Bender.
Lars Bender.Photo: Marco Verch, CC BY-SA 2.0
Sven and Lars Bender had a heated argument as they went down the dressing room after the final whistle of Bayer Leverkusen's 0-4 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.

Speaking to Kicker, the twin brothers insist it's all good between them now and explain that they see their dispute as a good sign.

"You have to be able to speak your mind. And we were a bit emotional, because we don't like to lose. But that's all forgotten again. It wasn't bad. On the contrary, it would be a bad thing if we didn't talk at all after such a game," Sven Bender said.

"We discussed what we could have done better. There were a lot of things. Nevertheless, you don't have to speak ill of everything. We must remain courageous," he added.

Leverkusen captain Lars Bender was particularly frustrated with the fact that 'Die Werkself' allowed Dortmund to score two late goals.

"The way my brother and I grew up, we could verbally punch each other in the face, and then it would all be forgotten five minutes later," Lars Bender said.

"You can lose a game in the end, but not like we did towards the end. It hurts to see us fall apart and concede one or two goals too many," he underlined.

Leverkusen sit eighth in the Bundesliga with seven points after four games.

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