Leverkusen deny Dortmund in seven-goal thriller as Bailey shines

Substitute Leon Bailey scored one late goal and made another as Bayer Leverkusen sealed a stunning 4-3 win over Borussia Dortmund to deny the visitors the chance to go second in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bailey came on for the final 20 minutes with his side 3-2 down and after slotting home the equaliser, the Jamaican winger’s audacious backheel led to Lars Bender heading in Leverkusen’s winner.

It was the first time Dortmund teenager Erling Braut Haaland had failed to score for his new club after hitting eight goals in his first four games.

Leverkusen is now fifth while Dortmund stays third.

However, Borussia could finish the weekend six points behind Bayern Munich if the defending champions beat second-placed RB Leipzig at home on Sunday.

Leverkusen’s Jamaican midfielder Leon Bailey celebrates a goal during the German first division Bundesliga football match Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs BVB Borussia Dortmund in Leverkusen, western Germany on February 8, 2020. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)

Mats Hummels, Emre Can — who was making his first Dortmund start — and Raphael Guerreiro netted Dortmund’s goals.

Former Liverpool and Juventus midfielder Can score a stunning goal to put Dortmund 2-1 up in the first half, curling his shot inside the top corner.

Volland put Leverkusen ahead on 20 minutes by firing home with his second touch, but Hummels equalised almost immediately by heading home a corner.

With both teams attacking hard, French forward Moussa Diaby had a goal ruled offside, just before Can’s stunning strike.

However, Volland levelled for Leverkusen when he rifled home on 43 minutes.

The second-half was just as packed with end-to-end action.

A superb goal by Jadon Sancho was cancelled when the video assistant referee spotted a push by Dortmund’s 17-year-old winger Giovanni Reyna in the build-up.

At the other end, Volland hit the post with an hour gone when he managed to get in behind the defence.

Dortmund finally went 3-2 up when Achraf Hakimi started a move which released left-back Raphaël Guerreiro, who drove his shot home on 65 minutes.

The scene was set for Bailey, who had a goal disallowed soon after coming on but was not to be denied.

After sweeping home a goal of his own on 81 minutes, he back-heeled to Dutch midfielder Daley Sinkgraven who crossed for Bender to nod in the winner.

There was just 82 seconds between the final two crucial goals.

– Quaison hat-trick –
Earlier, Sweden striker Robin Quaison hit a hat-trick as Mainz beat 10-man Hertha Berlin 3-1 in the capital to push Jurgen Klinsmann’s side towards the relegation spots.

Hertha have just one win in their five games in all competitions in 2020 under ex-Germany and USA head coach Klinsmann, who took charge last November.

Hertha’s only consolation was an own goal by Mainz defender Jeffrey Bruma just before Berlin midfielder Marius Wolf was sent off for a second yellow card soon before the final whistle.

Having also been drubbed 4-0 by leaders Bayern Munich in January, Hertha are now 14th in the table, two places from the relegation spots.

In Gelsenkirchen, sixth-placed Schalke’s title aspirations suffered a dent in a 1-1 draw at home to bottom side Paderborn.

Schalke are now seven points behind the leaders before Bayern play on Sunday.

Schalke’s academy product Ahmed Kutucu, 19, fired home from a tight angle in the second half, but midfielder Klaus Gjasula equalised with a late header for Paderborn.

– Bremen slump –
Werder Bremen are now deep in the relegation places after a 2-0 home defeat to mid-table Union Berlin.

Second-half goals by Union winger Marius Buelter did the damage, combined with Mainz’s win at Hertha Berlin, to leave Bremen 17th and four points from safety.

Bremen’s cause was not helped as Fortuna Duesseldorf picked up a point to move above Bremen by drawing 1-1 at ten-man Wolfsburg.

Winger Mathias Zimmermann gave Duesseldorf the lead and Wolfsburg had defender Marin Pongracic sent off for elbowing Alfredo Morales at a free-kick.

Despite being a man down, Wolfsburg drew level when midfielder Renato Steffen headed the equaliser.

Mid-table Freiburg rebounded from back-to-back defeats with a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim, thanks to a first-half penalty by striker Luca Waldschmidt at the Schwarzwald Stadion