The pressure on Roger Schmidt is intensified as his Leverkusen team struggled to cope against sheer quality opponents in Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Die Werkself were 2:0 down in the first half before Volland pulled one back in favour of the visitors, but a lacklustre defence conceded four more goals as the game ended 6:2. The loss takes Leverkusen to ninth spot, 11 points behind the CL place.
The BEST And WORST Bayer Leverkusen Players Rated In Their Defeat Vs Borussia Dortmund
Bernd Leno: Had an awful birthday, as he conceded six goals against the mighty Black and Yellows. The promising Leverkusen goalkeeper continues to disappoint this season, keeping only four clean sheets in 23 games.
Benjamin Henrichs: Struggled against Marco Reus in the first half, then got owned a few times by Christian Pulisic. All in all, it wasn’t such a good game for the young German fullback, who was largely outclassed by the individual qualities Reus and Pulisic.
Tin Jedvaj: His unfortunate deflection resulted in Dortmund second goal. The Croatian failed to keep the opposition attack at bay. He will need to be much more effective if he is to start frequently for Die Werkself.
Omer Toprak: The Dortmund-bound defender had a tough day against his future teammates. One of the best defenders in the league for the past few years, Toprak has struggled to perform this season. He needs a performance nose-dive to retain the starting place against the likes of Bartra and Ginter.
Wendell: His stunning free-kick in the second half was the only positive moment for Leverkusen throughout the game. He also found it difficult to cope with Erik Durm on the left flank.
Lars Bender: Did well to sustain the pressure in the middle, however, he faded on in the second half, causing Dortmund to find acres of space in the final third.
Charles Aranguiz: The Chilean had a mixed first half performance but had to come off within the first period of the game for a tactical switch by Roger Schmidt.
Admir Mehmedi: A frustrating night for the Swiss attacker, as he failed to put his mark on proceedings. The 25-year-old scored in the reverse fixture back in Leverkusen but was almost invisible this time around.
Kevin Kampl: Had a relatively good night. The former Dortmund midfielder did well to press the opposition midfielders but lacked the mettle to create something offensively for the factory workers.
Kai Havertz: Prior to the game, Havertz was the most inform Leverkusen player, but flopped horribly against Dortmund. It is one of those games, where the 17-year-old needs to gain experience from. He will be looking for a better performance next week against Werder Bremen.
Kevin Volland: The scorer of the fastest goal in the Bundesliga caused some troubles for the BVB defence. Used his physicality incredibly well to ditch Sokratis to pull back a goal for his side at the start of the second half. Lacked the service upfront.
Substitutes
Karim Bellarabi: Replaced Charles Aranguiz in the first and didn’t miss a beat from on! The German International had a busy afternoon, being active in fouls, attacking moments and literally everything. He was close from getting a sending off from the ref but was incredibly lucky. He did, however, caused the most threat by any Leverkusen player.
Aleksander Dragovic: Replaced Omer Toprak in final minutes but that didn’t change the proceedings, as Leverkusen conceded another goal after he came on as a substitute.
Javier Hernandez: The Mexican International was doubtful at the start but replaced Admir Mehmedi in the second half, where he couldn’t make much of difference.
