Having won their last four matches by an aggregate score of 12-1, and fresh off an impressive 2-0 away victory at Manchester City during the week, Leverkusen came into this game full of confidence.
That translated onto the pitch, where they produced the first genuine opening after 10 minutes as Ernest Poku cut inside and blazed over from a promising position.
From there, the hosts remained largely on top in the first period, but having failed to convert their possession into clear-cut chances, Die Werkself were punished before half-time when Daniel Svensson’s set-piece delivery found Aaron Anselmino, who powered a header past Mark Flekken.
After netting the opening goal in nine of their previous 10 home games, it was an unfamiliar situation for Leverkusen as they went into the break trailing.
The onus was certainly on Kasper Hjulmand’s side after the restart, and they passed up a golden opportunity through Malik Tillman, who skewed a header off-target at the back post whilst under pressure from Serhou Guirassy.
At the other end, Guirassy forced a reflex stop out of Flekken - his last meaningful contribution before making way for Fabio Silva. That substitution took just four minutes to pay dividends, as a wonderful whipped cross from Silva caught Loic Bade flat-footed, allowing Karim Adeyemi to get in front of his marker and nod home BVB’s second.
Seven of Dortmund’s previous nine league encounters had seen under 2.5 goals, a statistic that would have offered the visitors encouragement heading into the final 20 minutes.
There were chances at both ends as Jonas Hofmann directed a shot onto the crossbar and Julian Brandt curled wide when one-on-one against his former side, but it looked like Die Schwarzgelben would see out victory as the openings dried up. However, with 83 minutes on the clock, an inswinging cross from Ibrahim Maza was prodded in by Christian Kofane, giving Leverkusen late hope.
Nonetheless, that proved to be nothing more than a consolation, with victory here seeing BVB bounce back from successive stoppage-time heartbreaks in the Bundesliga, lifting them into third and above their defeated opponents in the standings.
Aside from a 3-0 dismantling by defending champions Bayern Munich, Leverkusen had won each of their November fixtures in all competitions, but a loss here marks their sixth in 10 meetings (W2, D2).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Aaron Anselmino (Borussia Dortmund)