Dortmund Hand Bayern Title Advantage After Draw At Bochum

Borussia Dortmund handed the advantage in the Bundesliga title race back to Bayern Munich on Friday after being held to a 1-1 draw at lowly Bochum.

Bochum, who sit one spot and just two points above the relegation zone, scored after just five minutes, Anthony Losilla unleashing a screamer from outside the box.

Dortmund hit back immediately, Germany forward Karim Adeyemi tapping in after a length-of-the-field team moves to make it 1-1.

With the match winding down, Adeyemi looked to have won a penalty for the visiting side when brought down in the box by Danilo Soares, but the referee waved the incident away.

Dortmund was camped in the Bochum penalty area in the final minutes and had the ball in the net through Mats Hummels, but the linesman’s flag went up immediately, with the defender standing half a meter offside.

Bayern can go one point clear in their bid for an 11th straight title by winning at home against last-placed Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

Dortmund manager Edin Terzic lamented the “extremely bitter” result as his side had a “rare chance to be so close to the championship.”

Terzic said the referee’s failure to check the Adeyemi penalty incident was “a key scene” in the draw, revealing to broadcaster DAZN “I begged him to look at it.”

His Bochum counterpart Thomas Letsch toasted “the style and manner the team fought” saying “that’s what we need in a relegation battle.”

Disappointed Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel said his side “had the title in our own hands, but couldn’t make the most of it.”

“We need to look forward, keep fighting and win our next game.”

Dortmund came into the match knowing a win would send them four points clear.

But they arrived winless in their last five away matches in all competitions and faced a Bochum side kept out of the relegation places due to their strong home form.

Bochum made the most of a nervy start from the visitors, Losilla latching onto a poor Dortmund clearance to rocket the ball across Gregor Kobel and into the top left of the net.