Andrich fires Leverkusen up to fifth after impressive victory over Dortmund

[p]Four straight league wins had helped [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/dortmund/nP1i5US1/"]Dortmund[/a] into a healthy position, well clear of the chasing pack, albeit with an optimistic title charge now appearing beyond them.[/p][p]As such, the onus was on the away side, who still harboured hopes of a top-four finish after what has been a rather underwhelming title defence.[/p][p]A slow start featured no efforts on goal from either side, but BVB could have taken the lead with their first effort on target as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bade-loic/YgxuEfvL/"]Loic Bade[/a] headed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/svensson-daniel/bs9KBNfb/"]Daniel Svensson[/a]’s strike off the line.[/p][p]Three of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayer-leverkusen/4jcj2zMd/"]Die Werkself[/a]’s last four Bundesliga encounters had seen over 5.5 goals, yet that trend appeared unlikely to continue as the sides were restricted to attempts from range.[/p][p][b]Nonetheless, one of those speculative strikes proved to be the opener, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andrich-robert/zDjAwp82/"]Andrich[/a] seizing possession and driving a low shot inside the far post to put the visitors ahead before half-time.[/b][/p][image alt="Match stats" id="fe6166df-e734-4f30-b22d-f4174cb19313" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="5d38d06e-4630-4fe2-aa7d-c88c11567bab" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]A short period of Dortmund pressure after the break soon gave way to a midfield battle, prompting both managers to turn to their benches in search of inspiration, with substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schick-patrik/WzQQSSfc/"]Patrik Schick[/a] then firing a close-range shot from a tight angle straight at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kobel-gregor/xlBg2ttC/"]Gregor Kobel[/a]. [/p][p]Leverkusen were the side on top as the game drifted towards full-time, with an unusually flat Signal Iduna Park failing to spark Die Schwarzgelben into life.[/p][p]With time running out, a smart turn allowed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guirassy-serhou/YXRCmup6/"]Serhou Guirassy[/a] to get a shot off from inside the box, but he rifled it onto the underside of the crossbar, shortly before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brandt-julian/hW5Goyrc/"]Julian Brandt[/a] sent a low effort narrowly wide deep into stoppage time, sealing the result.[/p][p]Although disappointing, a first loss to a side starting the day outside the top five this season (W17, D4) does little to affect Dortmund’s position, with an eight-point buffer almost certainly enough to see them through to the end of the campaign in second.[/p][p]However, the result is far from inconsequential for Leverkusen, who move up to fifth and are now just one point off the top four thanks to their first pair of back-to-back league wins since January.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bade-loic/YgxuEfvL/"]Loic Bade[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayer-leverkusen/4jcj2zMd/"]Bayer Leverkusen[/a])[/b][/p][image alt="Player ratings" id="562923a1-613f-42e7-b4cd-a38f1a67eb86" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="ba840ae0-98ff-414b-a166-86a895866d34" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bayer-leverkusen-4jcj2zMd/dortmund-nP1i5US1/summary/stats/?mid=zk7v5rx2"]Catch up on the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]