Dortmund beat Leverkusen to close gap with Bayern Munich

Dortmund beat Leverkusen to close gap with Bayern Munich

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BERLIN — Karim Adiemi scored his first Bundesliga goal on Sunday as Borussia Dortmund edged Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 to close the gap on leaders Bayern Munich to three.

It was Dortmund’s third consecutive win since the start of 2023, pushing Edin Teržić’s team into fourth place.

Sebastian Haller made his first start for Dortmund since being treated for testicular cancer, and the Ivory Coast striker created space for Adiemi to score in the 33rd minute.

But Dortmund also needed a great save from Gregor Koeber to hold off Leverkusen. Since the 2-0 defeat to Leipzig in October, the hosts have won their last five games and haven’t lost a game under new manager Xabi Alonso.

And this time, he didn’t need a second-half winner from Gio Reina, following the American’s second-half goals for victories over Mainz (2-1) and Augsburg (4-3).

Marius Wolff was involved in both goals on Sunday and won the first possession with a block against Nadiem Amiri. Julian Brandt played a one-two with Jude Bellingham and Haller left a cross for an unmarked Adiemi to score.

Adiemi has been under pressure to go scoreless in his last 13 appearances, but the 21-year-old has been aggressive for Leverkusen from the start, annoying defenders and pushing the ball. Adiemi was cautioned shortly after scoring in a clumsy challenge to Jeremy Frimpong on the other side of the field.

Wolff scored Dortmund’s second goal in the 53rd minute. When Bellingham threw his ball long to Wolff on the right, the winger’s cross hit Leverkusen defender Edmond in his Tapsova shin under Bellingham’s pressure.

Teržić brought in Marco Reus for the last five minutes as the Dortmund captain returned from injury.

Early on Sunday, Cologne drew 0-0 with bottom-placed Schalke.

Bayern lost 1-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday for their third consecutive draw since the start of the year. Second-placed Union His Bayern lead over Berlin is down to just one point. Leipzig finished third.

Other AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports



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