Dortmund survives late pressure to edge Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund scored once in each half and survived a late Bayer Leverkusen surge to win 2-1 and leapfrog its host into third place in the Bundesliga.
Argentina youth international Aaron Anselmino headed home a Daniel Svensson free-kick after 41 minutes to put Dortmund, which crushed Villarreal 4-0 in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, in front before Karim Adeyemi headed in Fabio Silva's cross in the 65th minute.
Leverkusen pulled a goal back through substitute Christian Kofane in the 83rd after Jonas Hofmann had rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot.
Dortmund had conceded late equalisers in its past two league matches but despite late Leverkusen pressure it held on this time to earn the three points.
"It was not easy. After the goal we conceded they put pressure on us," Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said.
"Today it was a good team performance. It was good to see how we faced a top opponent today.
"There was tension in the last minutes but we defended well today," added Kovac. "I had a really good feeling today. Despite the late pressure I still had the feeling that nothing would go wrong. Four days after Villarreal, to play the game in such a way shows the team is learning."
The Ruhr valley club is third on 25 points, one point behind second-placed RB Leipzig and two ahead of Leverkusen in fourth.
Defending champion Bayern Munich leads the title race on 34 after a 3-1 victory over St Pauli earlier in the day.
