Borussia Dortmund's Title Hopes in Tatters After 5-2 Loss to Bayer Leverkusen
Haaland's Absence Proves Costly as Leverkusen Dominate
Borussia Dortmund's hopes of winning the Bundesliga title suffered a major setback on Sunday as they crashed to a humiliating 5-2 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen. The absence of injured star striker Erling Haaland proved costly for Dortmund, as Leverkusen dominated the game from start to finish.
Leverkusen took the lead in the 14th minute through Robert Andrich, and they never looked back. Patrik Schick doubled their advantage in the 29th minute, before Exequiel Palacios made it 3-0 just before halftime. Dortmund pulled one back through Julian Brandt in the second half, but Moussa Diaby restored Leverkusen's three-goal lead in the 63rd minute.
Dortmund's hopes of a comeback were extinguished in the 72nd minute when Schick scored his second goal of the game. Jude Bellingham pulled another goal back for Dortmund in the 84th minute, but it was too little, too late.
The defeat leaves Dortmund nine points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings, and with just four games remaining, their title hopes are all but over. Leverkusen, meanwhile, move up to third place, just one point behind Dortmund.
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