Victor Boniface preserved Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten start to the German league season by scoring a goal that secured a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund. Leverkusen, led by coach Xabi Alonso, seemed headed for their first defeat since May after Julian Ryerson scored an early goal for Dortmund.
However, in the 79th minute, Patrik Schick, shortly after being substituted, created an opportunity by receiving a pass from Odilon Kossounou in the penalty area. He then delivered a low cross for Boniface to score and salvage the draw.
Victor marked his 13th goal of the season across all competitions, but notably, it was his first in the Bundesliga in nearly two months.
In the dying moments of the game, Niclas Fullkrug attempted a diving header to secure a victory for Dortmund, but he unfortunately sent the ball over the bar.
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Despite the freezing and snowy conditions, Dortmund spent most of the game on the defensive after full-back Ryerson netted a goal in the fifth minute, assisted by Fullkrug. This marked the first instance since September, when Harry Kane scored for Bayern Munich in a 2-2 draw, that Leverkusen conceded the opening goal. That draw was the only other occasion Alonso's team dropped points this season. Leverkusen have since won all 14 of their games in all competitions.
Leverkusen celebrated the equaliser as Florian Wirtz struck a shot into the net just before halftime. However, a video review revealed a narrow offside involving Boniface's heel much earlier in the build-up.
Throughout the game, Leverkusen consistently applied pressure on Dortmund, but their offensive efforts often faltered due to either inaccurate crosses or wayward long-range shots borne out of apparent frustration. Despite finishing the game with 22 shots compared to Dortmund's six, with only a handful posing genuine danger, and securing 16 corners to Dortmund's one, Leverkusen couldn't convert their dominance into a decisive outcome.
“It wasn't easy after we conceded the goal. We tried, tried, tried,” Alonso said. “In the end, I think we did enough to win. A point isn't bad but it could be better."
Leverkusen maintain their lead in the Bundesliga, holding a three-point advantage over Bayern Munich. However, Bayern have an additional game to play, which were postponed on December 2. Dortmund, currently in fifth place, have only garnered five points from their last five Bundesliga matches—a sharp contrast to their impressive form leading their Champions League group under Edin Terzic.
With a 10-point gap from Leverkusen after 13 games, Terzic acknowledged that it's a substantial difference. In other Bundesliga action, despite Augsburg missing a penalty and having a goal disallowed on video review, they still secured a 2-1 victory in snowy conditions against Eintracht Frankfurt. Goals from Fredrik Jensen and Iago contributed to Augsburg's win, while Finn Dahmen's own goal gave Frankfurt a glimmer of hope. Frankfurt sit in seventh place, while Augsburg are in ninth position.
Augsburg faced freezing conditions as they hosted a match the day after Bayern, located nearby, had to cancel their game against Union Berlin due to heavy snowfall. On December 2, Augsburg fans and club staff worked together to clear snow from the stands, preparing the stadium for the upcoming game.
Also on December 3, Michael Gregoritsch's goal secured a 1-0 victory for Freiburg against Mainz, a team facing the threat of relegation. Following this result, Freiburg climbed to the eighth position, while Mainz now occupy the 17th spot in the 18-team division. This match marked the first loss for Mainz's new coach, Jan Siewert, in his fourth game since taking over from Bo Svensson.
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