Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Bayer Leverkusen: 5 Hits and Flops from the game

Borussia Dortmund have had a great start to the season, losing just their last game to Union Berlin. Their strong 4-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen places them at the top of the Bundesliga table temporarily.

Bayer Leverkusen entered this game without a loss so far this season. While Dortmund had already picked up a loss, they clearly picked up their confidence as well. Although Bayer took most of the possession and most of the shots at goal, Dortmund played a fluid, sublime game, and went home with the lions share of the spoils.

The first goal of the game came in the 27th minute from a sublime Achraf Hakimi early cross. The ball was cleared out of Bayer's box to the right-wing. Hakimi picked up the ball from between two confused Bayer players who left him unmarked and failed to even trail him. He had all the time in the world to look up and give an inch-perfect pass to a just-onside Paco Alcacer. The centre striker flicked the ball past the keeper easily with his left foot and opened the scoring.

BVB's second goal was a complete team effort, right after half time, but it was many thanks to Bayer's poor handling of the ball. The ball was stolen and sent back down the right flank to an unmarked Jadon Sancho. He flew down the wing with the ball, near the byline, and gave a low cross towards Paco Alcacer. The Spaniard confused the Leverkusen defence with a simple dummy that left one defender on the ground. The ball continued on its' path to an oncoming Marco Reus who brilliantly finished into the bottom left corner of the post.

The third goal for Dortmund came from yet another counter-attack, with only three Bayer defenders against three BVB attackers. A loose ball was lifted through the air to the right-wing to find Sancho. His low cross to the far post was parried by the keeper, but the ball found its' way into the path of Raphael Guerreiro. The left-back was spot on in his finishing as he put the ball in an empty Bayer Leverkusen net.

However, that was not all. In the dying moments of the game, a quick flick-on header sent Borussia Dortmund on a right-wing counter once again. A through-ball to unmarked substitute striker Jacob Bruun Larsen sent Dortmund into Bayer's box once again. A low cross from Larsen to a marauding Reus on the left was all that was needed to score yet another goal. Marco Reus sent the keeper diving left and placed the ball with a low hard shot into the right-bottom corner of the goal.

This 4-0 rout gives Borussia Dortmund all the confidence they need to take on Barcelona come Tuesday. Bayer Leverkusen play a lesser team in Locomotiv Moscow as well, and it is left for them to grow the confidence they'll need for that outing, especially after a horrid defensive display.

We take a look at five players who impressed or played poorly during this Bundesliga clash.

#5 Hit - Thomas Delaney

Borussia Dortmund Training And Press Conference

While much of the drama and excitement seemed to happen in the final third of Bayer Leverkusen's box, all four goals actually caught the Bayer defence napping. In reality, much of the game was controlled by Leverkusen, even in terms of possession and chances in front of goal.

However, thanks to Thomas Delaney's defensive output, the Bayer attack was frustrated beyond words. The 28-year-old Dane made four clearances, seven interceptions, and five tackles. He even committed four fouls - the most by a single player on the whole pitch - during the game.

Delaney helped to keep the constant onslaught at bay, allowing his team to drive forward on those quick counters that won the game.

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#4 Flop - Julian Brandt

Borussia Dortmund v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Bundesliga

In a game where a more clinical Dortmund side vanquished Bayer Leverkusen, a certain Julian Brandt was nowhere to be found. While one might argue that the counters leading to goals for BVB came through the right-wing - leaving Brandt on the left with not much to do - he was unhelpful to the team's output even defensively.

To put it into context, Thorgan Hazard, who replaced Brandt in the 60th minute, made twice as many tackles and interceptions from the same position. Also, the German ended the game with the worst passing rate in Dortmund's starting midfield.

His attacking output was nothing to write home about through sixty minutes. He made no key passes, took only one shot, made no dribbles, was dispossessed once, and made no real mark on the game.

Dortmund played with ten men today, and Julian Brandt will want to forget this horrid display as quickly as possibly, especially if he is picked in the starting lineup against Barcelona on Tuesday.

#3 Hit - Jadon Sancho

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England's new star has brought his amazing form with him into the new season. The 19-year-old had showcased a stunning performance that has certainly added to his market value.

Sancho was a major part of three Dortmund goals in this game. His cross into the box for Reus to score the second goal handed him an assist to crown his all his efforts. The third goal was another Sancho cross, although he won't be taking credit for the assist. He sent in a low cross to the far post that was parried by the keeper.

However, it ended up in the net after Guerreiro got to the rebound first. In the dying minutes, he laid a threaded through-pass to Larsen, whose cross found Marco Reus and birthed the final goal of the game.

Sancho finished today with an assist to his name, along with a strong attacking performance that credits his entire team. He was composed on the ball, and he has continued to show just how indispensable he is to the German giants.

#2 Flop - Karim Bellarabi

1. FSV Mainz 05 v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Bundesliga

This game saw Bayer Leverkusen control possession and dominate the proceedings on every level, except perhaps the scoreline. With such poor output in the final third, most of Bayer's players had a very horrid game, to put it mildly.

Perhaps the most horrid of all was 29-year-old wing forward Karim Bellarabi, who will want to quickly forget his performance against Borussia Dortmund. To say he had a bad day in front of goal would be a total understatement.

Bellarabi failed to put a single shot on target throughout the game, even though he individually took the most shots on the pitch today. In fact, the only notable points of his game were the two key passes he made to give his team chances that they failed to take.

He had the joint-worst passing accuracy in the entire starting lineup for Bayer Leverkusen, which comes as a sad surprise as he made the third-fewest passes on his team.

What he lacked in attack, he did not make up for in defence. He managed only one tackle through the entire game and had no interceptions, clearances, or even blocked shots to his credit.

However, in his defence, the entire team played just as horribly when falling back to defend against the onslaughts that led to four goals.

#1 Hit - Marco Reus

Today, BVB captain and deserved Man of the Match winner showed off the classy one-of-a-kind finishing and ended the game with a brace to his name.

Marco Reus had a fantastic outing today as he led his team to a 4-0 win against rivals Bayer Leverkusen.

His clinical prowess was on show today, as Reus took three shots on goal, had them all on target, and scored two of them. With only 36 touches to his name in all 90 minutes, the deft attacking midfielder flitted in and out of the opposition's channels, waiting like a viper for the right time to strike.

He caught on to Paco Alcacer's dummy, easily sending a curling ground ball to the left bottom corner. In injury time, he made himself available on the left wing for a Larsen cross, tricked the keeper into diving near-post and took another low shot into the right corner of the goal.

Defensively, he helped his team's cause with two interceptions. Lucien Favre will be glad to have such a player on his team, and Reus will likely be on the starting lineup for the Blaugrana clash on Tuesday.