Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 away from home on Matchday 22 of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season on Sunday.
In one of the more bizarre matches in recent memory, play was suspended for almost 10 minutes in the second half after referee Felix Zwayer sent Leverkusen head coach Roger Schmidt to the stands. The 48-year-old had protested Dortmund's goal in the 64th minute too vigorously.
Matthias Ginter initiated the sequence that led to the goal with a quickly taken free-kick approximately six yards from where the foul from Stefan Kiessling on Sven Bender had actually taken place.
A magnificent through ball from Marco Reus to Erik Durm and a simple pass across the face of goal later, star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang poked home for the only goal of the match.
When Schmidt refused to leave his post at the touchline after the goal, Zwayer suspended the match in accordance with the rules.
Once play resumed, Leverkusen had a good shout for a penalty after a header from Chicharito seemed to strike Sokratis Papastathopoulos' outstretched arm, but Zwayer waved play on.
The Mexican later had the biggest chance to tie the game for the Werkself, but his stoppage-time shot didn't even hit the target.
Dortmund certainly were somewhat lucky to win the game, but, considering they played with a number of second-string players between the two UEFA Europa League round-of-32 contests with FC Porto, it was still a pretty solid performance.
The Black and Yellows are now a whopping 15 points ahead of third-placed Hertha BSC, while the hosts will drop out of the Champions League spots if FC Schalke win their match on Sunday.
Here, B/R picks the winners and losers from this curious game.
Loser: Roger Schmidt
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We usually start with a winner, but there's only one place to start this time around.
Schmidt's refusal to leave the coaching zone led to a 10-minute stoppage. It showed an utter lack of respect for the referee, and it was a lack of class in general.
Paddy Higgs of Onefootball tweeted during the bizarre sequence: "Bonkers stuff at Leverkusen. Schmidt like a defiant, sulking toddler."
Countless coaches disagree with refereeing decisions every week, but Schmidt was the first whose actions almost led to a game getting cancelled.
Footballing-wise, his team didn't manage to really trouble a BVB team missing many regular performers, which is bad enough considering Bayer's good stretch of form since the turn of the year.
Winner: Jonathan Tah
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Watched by Germany coach Joachim Low, 20-year-old centre-back Jonathan Tah was easily Leverkusen's most impressive player against Dortmund.
The physically imposing defender dominated the matchup with Aubameyang, especially in the first half, where he didn't lose a single duel, according to German broadcaster Sky.
According to WhoScored.com, Tah not only led his team in touches (68), but also in interceptions (3). Aubameyang did score the game-deciding goal, but Tah was not at fault, seeing as it came from a quick counter-attack.
With performances like these, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him go to the European Championships in the summer.
Loser: Chicharito
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It was a bit of a surprise to see Chicharito's name on Leverkusen's teamsheet for the game, as he had just recovered from a muscle injury suffered in the DFB-Pokal loss to Werder Bremen earlier this month.
Schmidt told German broadcaster Sky before the game, however, that the plan was all along to have the Mexican back for the Dortmund game.
Still, it looked like the match might have come a little early for Chicharito, who didn't look his usual self. He was barely a part of his team's play and often had to drop relatively deep to receive a ball. Therefore, he didn't appear in the dangerous areas too often.
Other than the sequence that should've led to a Leverkusen penalty, he was only really visible in Dortmund's box once, and that was when he wasted a prime opportunity to tie the game in stoppage time.
Winners: Moritz Leitner and Christian Pulisic
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While the game itself didn't have many highlights, at least in terms of the actual football on the pitch, two Dortmund players will remember it fondly: Moritz Leitner and Christian Pulisic made their first starts of the campaign.
Leitner played in central midfield, replacing Shinji Kagawa, who was rested after the Porto match in midweek. Pulisic started on the left wing and later moved to the right.
Neither of the two played all that great, which largely was down to the game plan that didn't call for good technicians, rather robust players for duels and battles for rebounds, but the mere fact that head coach Thomas Tuchel trusted them with a spot in the starting XI speaks volumes.
The 42-year-old took Pulisic off at half-time. YellowWallPod.com's Lewis Ambrose tweeted on the young American's performance: "Pulisic is a great talent and that experience would've been huge for him. ... He struggled a bit, but it'll help him learn."
Winner: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Aubameyang didn't have a particularly great game. He was in good hands with Tah and Omer Toprak defending him in the first half, where he wasted the only chance that fell to him shortly before intermission.
Yet, like all great goalscorers, the Gabonese doesn't need a good performance to score a vital goal, which is just what he did.
It was his 21st league goal of the campaign and his 50th in the Bundesliga since joining Dortmund in 2013.
As stat provider OptaFranz pointed out on Twitter, he reached that milestone "in his 86th game—this is nearly as fast as Gerd Muller did (83 games)."
Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
