Mehmedi is brought down by Hummels, resulting in a free kick for Leverkusen in a dangerous position on the right flank. Calhanoglu fires a great cross into the heart of the penalty area but Sokratis gets up well to head the ball out of the box, bringing an end to what will surely be the final attack of the game.
90' +1
Castro hits the post! A low cross from Januzaj bounces off the leg of Papadopoulos and into the path of the former Leverkusen midfielder, who beats Leno with his low strike only to see it ricochet off the woodwork.
90'
The fourth official has indicated that there will be two minutes of added time.
89'
Leverkusen move the ball around well deep inside the Dortmund half of the pitch, but Mehmedi's attempted pass towards Donati is easily cut out by Castro, who then embarks on a marauding run up the left wing.
88'
G. Castro enters the game and replaces P. Aubameyang.
Aubameyang receives a standing ovation as he makes his way off the pitch to be replaced by the former Leverkusen midfielder Castro.
86'
Schmelzer goes close! Gundogan breaks into the penalty area far too easily before testing Leno, who can only parry the ball into the path of the aforementioned left-back. The defender immediately forces the goalkeeper into action once again, and this time he's able to push the strike round the post and out for a corner.
84'
Dortmund come back forward once again, this time through Kagawa, who spots Leno and tries to beat the goalkeeper with a deft chip. It's slightly mishit, however, and flies several yards wide of the far post.
83'
It's all Dortmund at the moment as they work the ball around beautifully deep inside the Leverkusen half of the pitch. Ramos decides to unleash a low shot from 20 yards out but it ends up bouncing off the back of Januzaj and away from goal.
81'
A. Ramos enters the game and replaces H. Mkhitaryan.
Dortmund have made their second change of the evening, with Ramos coming on to take the place of Mkhitaryan.
80'
Dortmund break away on a quick counter attack before Aubameyang sets up Januzaj with an excellent lofted pass. The Belgian flies into the box before going down under a challenge from Tah, but the referee ignores the youngster's pleas for a penalty and waves play on.
Minute
Description
78'
B. Henrichs enters the game and replaces K. Bellarabi.
And now Kagawa goes close! Dortmund work the ball around well again before the Japan international unleashes a shot from a similar position to Januzaj's, but his, a low strike, is parried away by a fantastic diving save by Leno.
Leverkusen have decided to make their final substitution, with Bellarabi making way for Henrichs, who comes on to make his Bundesliga debut.
77'
Fantastic chance for Januzaj! Aubameyang flies past Papadopoulos on the right flank before cutting a great pass into the feet of the Belgian, who somehow skies his close-range strike over the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
76'
Bellarabi flies forward on an excellent run before sending a lovely through-ball into the path of Brandt, but the youngster isn't quick enough to meet the pass and, as a result, Burki is able to cut out the danger.
74'
Penalty goal scored by P. Aubameyang for Borussia Dortmund!
GOAL! Aubameyang wraps up what will surely now be yet another win for Dortmund with a well-taken penalty that easily beats Leno.
73'
Wendell gets yellow.
PENALTY! A poor touch from Wendell allows Ginter to break into the penalty area, and the Brazilian, who has struggled all afternoon, ends up dragging the defender down, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
72'
Januzaj's deep cross from the corner finds Schmelzer at the back post, but the defender is unable to guide his header towards Aubameyang and it's instead thumped away from danger by Tah.
71'
K. Papadopoulos gets yellow.
Januzaj shows great skill on the right wing before being pushed to the ground by Papadopoulos, resulting in a yellow card for the defender and a free kick for Dortmund.
69'
Leverkusen win themselves a free kick on the right flank, which is flung towards the edge of the penalty area. It meets Tah but his headed effort ends up looping well wide of the goal and out of play for a goal kick.
67'
Great play by Bellarabi! The winger out-muscles two Dortmund players before embarking on a brilliant run towards the edge of the penalty area, but he brings a dangerous attacking move to a disappointing end with a half-hearted toe-poked strike that ends up missing the far post by several yards.
65'
Kagawa tees up Schmelzer with a lovely lofted pass over to the left flank, and the defender immediately cuts inside before trying to tee up Mkhitaryan. His attempted through-ball is slightly overhit, however, and rolls harmlessly out of play for a Leverkusen goal kick.
64'
A. Januzaj enters the game and replaces J. Hofmann.
Dortmund have decided to make their first substitution of the game, with Hofmann making way for Januzaj.
62'
Excellent save by Burki! Calhanoglu steps up and beats the wall with an excellent strike, but the goalkeeper parries the shot away with a strong diving save.
61'
S. Papastathopoulos gets yellow.
Sokratis clumsily brings down Hernandez on the edge of the Dortmund penalty area, resulting in a free kick for Leverkusen in an incredibly dangerous position.
60'
Dortmund are looking in complete control at the moment, and Leverkusen are struggling to find a way past the yellow shirts in front of them, who have been excellent this afternoon.
58'
S. Kagawa has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund! Assist by H. Mkhitaryan.
GOAL! It's 2-0 to Dortmund! A poor clearance from Wendell allows Hofmann to skip past him before cutting the ball over to Gundogan, who then tees up Mkhitaryan. The Armenian immediately sends a fantastic through-ball into the path of Kagawa, who calmly slots the ball past Leno and into the back of the net from close range. That was beautifully done by the hosts!
57'
Leverkusen enjoy a good spell of possession before Wendell tries to curl a cross towards Hernandez, but it's sent too near to Burki, who is easily able to cut out the danger at the near post.
55'
Hofmann sends in an in-swinger from the corner but it's underhit and is easily dealt with by the Leverkusen defence.
54'
Hummels tees up Schmelzer, who cuts inside from the left flank before being tripped over by a clumsy challenge from Mehmedi, resulting in a free kick for Dortmund in an incredibly dangerous position just outside of the penalty area. Gundogan fires a curling strike from the set-piece but it hits the head of Papadopoulos before flying out of play for a corner.
52'
And now Hernandez goes close! Leverkusen break away incredibly quickly before Brandt tees up the Mexican, but he's sent off balance by Schmelzer and, as a result, his close-range effort is well stopped by Burki.
51'
Fantastic chance for Aubameyang! A beautiful through-ball is sent through the middle of the Leverkusen defence and into the path of the aforementioned forward, who flies into the penalty area before forcing Leno into making a brilliant save.
50'
Leverkusen work the ball around well before Bellarabi tries to find Brandt with a curling cross towards the back post, but it's sent too far away from the youngster and it ends up missing him before bouncing out of play for a throw-in on the left wing.
48'
It's an even start to the second half, with both sides battling for possession in the middle of the pitch. Leverkusen have started more determined than they looked at the end of the opening period, and they are looking more positive when on the ball.
46'
J. Brandt enters the game and replaces C. Kramer.
A. Mehmedi enters the game and replaces S. Kießling.
And we're underway once again!
Leverkusen have made a double substitution during the half-time break. The first player to come on is Brandt, who takes the place of Kramer.
And the second is Mehmedi, who replaces Kiessling.
45' +1
Let off for Leno! The goalkeeper nonchalantly tries to play a risky pass out to Wendell that flies into the feet of Hofmann, but the winger isn't able to control the ball and it bounces off him and away from danger, much to the relief of the Leverkusen fans behind the goal.
45'
The fourth official has indicated that there will be just one minute of added time.
44'
A deep cross from Hofmann flies over Donati and into the feet of Mkhitaryan, who immediately unleashes a thumping volley that flies well over the top of the crossbar.
43'
Again, Weigl tries to find Aubameyang with a through-ball, but it's overhit, this time along the ground, and misses the forward, who was in a great position on the edge of the penalty area.
42'
Weigl launches a lofted pass over the top of the Leverkusen defence and towards Aubameyang, but it's slightly overhit and ends up bouncing into the hands of Leno midway inside the penalty area.
41'
K. Kampl gets yellow.
Kampl receives the first yellow card of the game for a poor foul in the middle of the pitch.
39'
Bellarabi muscles his way past Mkhitaryan in the middle of the pitch before firing an audacious shot from 35 yards out, but, unsurprisingly, Burki is able to watch the strike sail well wide of the goal.
37'
Great chance for Kampl! Kiessling spins on the edge of the penalty area before teeing up the Slovenian, who immediately unleashes a rocket of a shot that Burki is just about able to hold onto.
35'
Hernandez is finding it difficult to get the better of Sokratis as the two continue to battle inside the Dortmund penalty area. This time the centre-back quickly steps up to force the Mexican offside, resulting in the linesmans' flag immediately being raised.
33'
Mkhitaryan goes close! Ginter cuts inside from the right flank before sending a lovely low cross into the path of Aubameyang. The forward jumps out of the way of the ball to set up the aforementioned Armenian, who immediately unleashes a thumping shot that Leno does well to stop.
32'
A lofted pass is flung forward and almost finds Hernandez on the right-hand side of the penalty area. He tries to out-muscle Sokratis but is unable to do so, and the centre-back does well to shepherd the ball out of play for a goal kick.
30'
Kramer loses the ball in a dangerous posiiton, allowing Gundogan to immediately pick it up just outside of the Leverkusen penalty area. He tries to slot a lovely pass into the path of Aubameyang, but it hits the ankle of Papadopoulos before bouncing away from danger.
28'
Leverkusen keep pushing forward and earn themselves a corner on the right flank. It's curled by Calhanoglu towards the back post but it flies over the head of Papadopoulos and out to the opposite wing, where Ginter is able to get onto the ball.
27'
Hernandez is brought down by Sokratis, resulting in a free kick for Leverkusen. They take it short and work it over to Donati, who skips past Schmelzer before curling a cross towards the near post. It's underhit, however, and can only find the head of Hummels.
25'
Dortmund work the ball around well before Gundogan tries to tee up Hofmann, but Wendell is just about able to cut out the pass at the vital moment with a sliding interception.
23'
After a frantic few moments, the pace of the game has slowed down somewhat as Dortmund revert to patiently passing the ball around inside the Leverkusen half of the pitch.
21'
What a chance for Hernandez! The Mexican flies through the disjointed Dortmund back line before going one-on-one with Burki, but he ends up completely scuffing his shot past the goalkeeper and well wide of the goal. He really should have done better with that effort.
19'
J. Hofmann has scored a goal for Borussia Dortmund! Assist by S. Kagawa.
GOAL! Dortmund have taken the lead! Kagawa launches an absolutely phenomenal 40 yards pass over the top of the Leverkusen defence and into the path of Hofmann. The winger flies forward and beats Leno, who completely misses the ball, before slotting the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the penalty area.
18'
Dortmund are all over Leverkusen at the moment! Again, they break away in numbers and put the visitors under an incredible amount of pressure, but Mkhitaryan is unable to beat the sea of red shirts camped in front of him with his thumping shot from just inside the box.
16'
Another chance for Dortmund! The hosts switch the ball over to the right flank, where Hofmann sends a low cross into the middle of the box. It meets Kagawa, who immediately tees up Gundogan, but the midfielder's low strike flies just wide of the far post.
15'
Calhanoglu flies down the left flank before battling with Weigl near the byline, but the defensive midfielder comes out on top before shepherding the ball out of play for a goal kick.
14'
The resulting set-piece bounces around the penalty area, with no yellow shirts able to get a shot away, before Tah eventually clears the danger with a thumping boot up the pitch.
13'
What a chance for Mkhitaryan! The attacking midfielder embarks on a fantastic run past three Leverkusen players after playing a lovely one-two with Gundogan. He then unleashes a rocket of a shot from the edge of the penalty area but Leno does extremely well to push the strike over the top of the crossbar and out of play for a corner.
11'
Schmelzer flies down the left flank before cutting inside and setting up Mkhitaryan. The Armenian looks set to shoot but he's muscled off the ball by a wonderful tackle from Bellarabi just before he's able to do so.
10'
A poor pass from Gundogan is pounced on by Herandez, who then tries to break forward, but his final touch is poor and, as a result, he's dispossessed by Sokratis once again.
8'
Kampl picks up the ball in the middle of the pitch and immediately tries to tee up Hernandez with a long pass forward, but Sokratis is there to out-muscle the Mexican before clearing the danger out of play for a throw-in on the left flank.
6'
Weigl is brought down in the middle of the pitch, resulting in a free kick for the hosts. They take it short before Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan link up wonderfully well on the edge of the Leverkusen peanlty area, but the Armenian ends up sending his volleyed shot over the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
4'
A Leverkusen attack breaks down just outside of the Dortmund penalty area, allowing the hosts to break away on a quick counter attack. Gundogan immediately fires a long pass into the path of Aubameyang, but Tah does well to dart across and cut out the danger.
2'
Leverkusen immediately break away on a brilliant attack down the left flank, but Kiessling's run is slightly mistimed and, as a result, the linesman's flag is quickly raised for offside.
1'
And we're off! Leverkusen get us underway, attacking from right to left.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live text commentary of today’s Bundesliga clash between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. My name is Ben Cullimore and I will be keeping you up to date with all of the action from the Westfalenstadion.
Thomas Tuchel has enjoyed a brilliant start to life as Dortmund manager, and since taking over from Jurgen Klopp his side have failed to drop a single point, both domestically and in Europe, in what has been an excellent month and a half. Thursday evening saw them continue their winning run with a narrow, and somewhat nervy, 2-1 victory at home to Krasnodar in the Europa League, whilst last weekend they made it four wins out of four in the Bundesliga with a 4-2 win against Hannover 96. However, today’s game is arguably their biggest test so far, even if it does come against a Leverkusen side that have started the new campaign in lacklustre fashion.
Last season, Leverkusen continued an impressive few years with a solid campaign that resulted in them finishing in fourth place, and they started this season in similar fashion with victories against Hoffenheim and Hannover 96 in their opening two clashes. However, they have stuttered somewhat since then and head to the imposing Westfalenstadion with two consecutive defeats under their belts. The 3-0 loss against Bayern Munich three weeks ago wasn’t unexpected, but last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at home to newly-promoted Darmstadt 98 certainly was a shock, to say the least. As a result, they are under a lot of pressure to return to winning ways in an attempt to avoid falling even further behind Dortmund.
There’s just over 15 minutes left to go until until kick-off, so let’s have a look at how the two teams will be lining up this afternoon…
Thomas Tuchel has decided to make four changes to the Dortmund side that started the narrow win against Krasnodar during the week, with Roman Burki, Julian Weigl, Jonas Hofmann and Shinji Kagawa coming into the squad to replace Roman Weidenfeller, Joo-Ho Park, Gonzalo Castro and Adnan Januzaj, all of whom drop to the substitutes’ bench.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen boss Roger Schmidt has made three alterations to the side that comfortable beat BATE in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Roberto Hilbert, Admir Mehmedi and Lars Bender making way for Giulio Donati, Christoph Kramer and Stefan Kiessling, respectively.
The two sides are making their way out onto the pitch, with just a few minutes to go until kick-off.
HALF-TIME: BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1-0 BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Dortmund head into the half-time break with a well-deserved one-goal lead after enjoying a great start to the game, but Leverkusen have fought back since then to enjoy their fair share of chances. However, Sokratis and Hummels have stood firm to keep them at bay, resulting in both Hernandez and Kiessling struggling to cause Burki too many problems.
The two teams are making their way back out onto the pitch ahead of the start of the second half.
FULL-TIME: BORUSSIA DORTMUND 3-0 BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Dortmund move back to the top of the table after another excellent performance that results in their fifth consecutive victory, and they fully deserve all three points after frustrating Leverkusen at both ends of the pitch. The visitors enjoyed several bright spells but never looked as if they were going to beat the hosts, who were wonderfully well organised at the back and full of attacking flair up front.
My name is Ben Cullimore and it's been an absolute pleasure describing all of the action to you this afternoon. Until next time, goodbye!
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