The first half was one of few chances as both sides pressed each other into sloppy passes and silly fouls. Dortmund looked nervy at the back initially but started to settle as the half wore on. Bernd Leno handled outside his area but the incident was missed by the officials. Marcel Schmelzer fired straight at Leno before Nuri Sahin dragged a shot wide.
The best chance fell to Gonzalo Castro who was laid off in the box by Karim Bellarabi after a quick Bayer counter but captain Mats Hummels made a fantastic clearance off the line to keep the score 0-0 at the break.
Borussia's best chance of the game came early in the second half when that intense gegenpressing saw Ciro Immobile go through on goal from a tight angle and he forced a smart save from the German stopper. The home side then had a few wild attempts at goal as normal service resumed.
Jürgen Klopp's side nearly took the lead just after the hour when countering, Immobile's pace saw him reach the byline but his cut-back to Marco Reus was cleared by a last minute interception from Bellerabi, who was tracking back.
The Italian striker could not quite divert a shot from debutant Kevin Kampl goalwards soon after.
Substitute Simon Rolfes then put Castro through, only for the midfielder to fluff his lines again as he lofted the ball over the bar with 15 minutes left on the clock.
As both sides pushed for the goal that would surely win it, Sahin volleyed narrowly wide. That was the closest either team came to in the latter stages as the game fizzled out.